The Tale of Mrs Baggins: An Unexpected Journey
by jabberwocky1996
Summary: Brianna Baggins is an ordinary hobbit. Or so she thinks. That changes when Gillian the Grey and a company of dwarf women recruit her in their mission to slay the dragon Smaug. Always pictured Felicity Jones as a perfect fem!Bilbo, hence the cover.
1. Door to Door Wizard

The hobbit is a curious creature, indeed one of the strangest in Middle-Earth. Resilient, resourceful and brave. Yet they are undeniably creatures of comfort, preferring not to get involved with matters of the outside world. They all lived in holes in the ground. Not dirty, damp, cold holes that creatures like badgers or rabbits live in. No, this is a hobbit hole and that means comfort. And one hobbit hole in particular called Bag-End had a green door with a golden colored handle and belong to a young hobbit named Brianna.

Brianna Edith Baggins was a hobbit about in her mid to late 20's. Like all hobbits (including the women) she had hairs on her feet and just above her heel, as hobbits didn't wear shoes since the hairs on their feet helped keep their feet insulated. What separated Brianna from most of the hobbit women was her beauty. Her family was known for being rather good looking, especially on her mother's side. Brianna herself had bright green eyes, gentle skin and slightly curled hair which she preferred to keep straightened. She was at the moment wearing a sea blue dress that extended to just above her knees with an apron tied round her waist, had her hair down as she always did and had work gloves on her hands as she tended to her garden. It was a lovely garden with ferns, cycans and cabbages but she especially loved the rose bushes which she was now pulling weeds from. She was done to the last two and was attempting to pull both out at the same time without wreaking havoc on her garden. She was down on her knees and pulling on the stubborn plants with all her might. She strained as she grasped the weeds tighter and gave a massive tug. The two weeds suddenly freed themselves from the earth and sent Brianna falling onto her back.

It fortunately didn't hurt as much as it would have had she been standing but it nonetheless made her back ache slightly as she sat up and looked at the weeds she held in her left hand. She chuckled softly to herself, then grasped a basket that was to her left and in front of her and placed the newly un-earthed weeds into the basket, feeling very proud of herself.

Little did this young lady know that today was a day that would change her life forever.

Just down the road on the walkway right next to her gate at the left corner where the pathway turns upward walked another, much taller woman. She seemed to be in her mid sixties and had light grey hair with occasional white streaks if you looked close enough. She wore a dark grey dress that went all the way down to the top of the brown boots she was wearing and also had a dark grey coat that matched the dress. She had in her right hand a wooden staff with a shape similar to that of a sort of round version of the top of a lamppost. Her most striking feature was the hat she wore on her head that was a soft mixture of blue and lavender and had an owl feather tucked in it. This was no ordinary traveller. This was Gillian the Grey, a wizard of great fame and very wise. And it as she approached Brianna's house, she caught sight of her in her garden by the gate.

The hobbit was blissfully unaware of the wizard's presence. After re-placing the dirt back under the rose bushes, she picked up the watering can and began watering the bushes. As she did so, she started humming to herself. It was a simple yet melodic tune and she couldn't remember where she got it from but at most she figured it was lullaby from her mother. As she finished watering plants she then placed the watering can back to the left side of her and that's when Gillian decided to make her presence known.

"Hello there, young lady." she said in a stern but warm voice.

Brianna was caught by surprise and turned to look at Gillian. She'd never seen anyone like this before. She was head and shoulders taller then she was and her gate only reached up to just above the woman's waist. Plus she wasn't used to visitors coming by so early (it was about 8:35 after all) but she then found the best way to respond.

"Good morning." she said softly in a refined voice.

"What do you mean? Do you wish me a good morning or do you mean it is a good morning whether I want it or not?" Gillian asked "Or perhaps you mean to say that you feel good on this particular morning? Or are you saying that this is a morning to be good on."

Brianna looked around to see if anyone else was around but no one was. She then turned back to Gillian who awaited her response.

"All of them at once I guess." Brianna finally said.

"Those are lovely roses." Gillian said as she caught eye of the rose bushes.

"Thank you." Brianna replied "Entered them in a flower contest a while back. Couldn't part with them."

"I see." Gillian said.

Brianna then noticed she still was sitting on her knees and not wanting to be rude, stood up and brushed any dirt off her apron. She casually folded her arms as she wondered why Gillian wasn't leaving.

"Can I help you with something, ma'am?" she asked.

"That remains to be seen." Gillian responded.

"I don't understand." Brianna replied.

"Well you see, Brianna Baggins..." Gillian said "I'm looking for someone to share in an adventure."

"Adventures? Not exactly my type." Brianna chuckled "They make you late for dinner. But I appreciate the offer."

She walked over to her mailbox which was just across from them and right next to her gate on the right side. She then retrieved from it her mail for the day. It was usual in that it was bills, invitations to special events and so forth but in particular a letter from her sister. She casually opened the letter and started reading with the rest of the mail in-between her fingers. She bit her lip as her sister asked how she was doing and about her own health and the state of their brother. But as she read through it she couldn't help but get the unnerving feeling she was being watched. She then glanced for a second away from the letter and to Gillian who was still standing there waiting patiently.

Brianna sighed in irritation and turned her full attention back to Gillian who was still waiting and now leaning slightly on her staff.

"Good morning." Brianna said with hint of anger in her voice and turned to head inside.

"To think I'd end up being good-morninged by Belladonna Took's daughter!" Gillian groaned "As if I were selling buttons at the door!"

Brianna froze half-way up the steps to her house and zipped her head back around to Gillian. How on earth did this woman know her and her family? As far as she knew, she'd just met this woman.

"You've changed, Brianna Baggins." Gillian continued "And not entirely for the better."

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Brianna asked.

"You remember my name, Brianna. But you don't remember that I belong to it." Gillian responded "I'm Gillian. And Gillian means me."

That name. It did sound familiar to Brianna but she couldn't trace where she'd first heard it for a bit. But then after some thinking, she suddenly remembered something from her childhood: specifically when she would have been about four, her brother eleven and her mother was pregnant with her baby sister. During one of Old Took's Summer Sun Celebration parties, she recalled jabbing at an elderly woman in grey with her toy sword before her mother pulled her back and apologized.

"Wait...not Gillian, the wandering wizard who made most excellent fireworks!" Brianna said as it finally came together in her brain "Old Took used to have them all the time in his parties in summer!"

She paused for a moment as she laughed and Gillian had a chuckle herself. Brianna, in her excitement, accidentally dropped her mail and hastily picked it up, her cheeks blushing with embarrassment.

"I'm so dreadfully sorry!" she said as she flipped her hair to get a piece dangling back in position "I had no idea you were still in business."

"Well, it's good to know you remember something about me. Even if it is my fireworks." Gillian said smiling "Right then, I shall alert the others!"

"Wait, others?" Brianna asked now more confused then ever "About what?"

"My proposition, silly." Gillian replied "It will be very good for you...and most amusing for me."

"Oh no, no, no, no! We don't any adventures here!" Brianna replied as she climbed her steps to her door "I'd like for you to come over for tea, tomorrow but if you're looking for adventure I suggest you try across the river!" she continued as she opened her door "Good morning."

And Brianna then shut her door and went inside. Once inside, she paused, took a deep breath, exhaled and then placed her mail save for her sisters letter on top of a table across the room on the hall to her left. As she attempted to resume reading it, she thought she heard a faint scratching on her door. She then slowly turned towards the door and quietly walked towards it, letter in hand. She then reached out with her right hand and grasped the knob. She then flung the door open and looked around. No one was there. And Gillian seemingly had gone. Brianna rolled her eyes and sighed.

 _Whomever that was_ she thought _they're gone now_

But she failed to notice as she shut the door the mark on the door which Gillian had scratched on it.


	2. The Life of a Hobbiton Baggins

Later that afternoon, Brianna decided to go to the market to forget what had transpired that morning. It was always a busy place with everyone going around buying trinkets, food, antiques, you name it from outdoor stands. The sun shone brightly in the clear blue sky with only a few small white clouds in the distance looking like flying herds of sheep. Throughout the market, people also talked about varying aspects of the day or life in general, even if there wasn't much to talk about. Children played and laughed as parents either watched smiling or sat nervously hoping they wouldn't trip or fall into the nearby lake. Across from the stand Brianna was at (which was Worrywort's Goods), two old people played chess while a group of younger hobbits sat and watched as if it was the fascinating thing they'd ever seen. Brianna in the meantime was just wrapping up buying some fish, carrots, some chicken (which happened to be on sale) and some apples. She was now wearing a white dress that went down to just above her heels and a blue vest that went down to her thighs. She wouldn't normally dress so fancy but she thought she always did her best to look nice and she'd been longing to wear that dress for some time. She also had with her a light purple purse with flowers stitched on it that she kept in the right pocket of her vest.

"That'll be two pounds, Mrs. Baggins." Worrywort said.

"Alright then, Mr. Worrywort." Brianna said as she reached into her pocket.

She brought her purse, opened it and gave Worrywort the money that was required. As she put the purse back in her pocket and as Worrywort bagged the groceries, she looked around expecting Gillian to pop up. Yet the wizard was nowhere in sight. Then again, with her hat she would be kind of hard to miss. Brianna couldn't get their meeting out her head, especially how she seemed to be someone who knew Brianna's family and that she's met once herself.

 _I must have been four back then._ she thought _Then that would mean Stephen would have been ten and mom would have been pregnant with Heidi._

She went through the situation in her head as she turned back to Worrywort who'd finished with her groceries and handed her the bag and the chicken which was in a see-through like box.

"Thank you." she said as she turned to leave.

Worrywort nodded and then proceeded onto the next customer. Brianna stuffed the chicken box into the bag as she walked, only to suddenly feel her feet simultaneously trip and bump into something and she fell face first onto the ground. She moaned dizzyingly as she shook her head and then heard someone laughing a snooty, very prideful laugh. She then looked up to see the source of said laugh. It came from one of the richest women in town and head of the Hobbiton Women's Club: Lobelia Sackville-Baggins, a distant relation. She was very beautiful with long, blonde hair that curled slightly and she also had sharp, blue eyes which contrasted Brianna's green eyes. She wore a dress which was bright red at the top with white round the chest area and on the cuffs of her sleeves and then from the waist down the dress was a mix of purple and pink with the purple taking the form of elaborate shapes shewn over the dress. She wore a pink hat with a little bow in the center and she had in her left hand a sun umbrella of the same color. Despite her appearance, Lobelia was very full of herself and thought herself better than others, even her own kin.

"Oh dear, it seems you've gone and made a mess of things." she said smugly in a dignified accent.

"Hello, Lobelia." Brianna replied dryly as she righted herself and stood up.

Her groceries were surprisingly intact with the bag still slung round her right shoulder. But the hem of her gown and some parts of it were now stained with dirt. She sighed with irritation while Lobelia just smiled the kind of smile bullies have when they've picked on someone smaller than they were as she observed Brianna's bag and then her dress.

"Planning a party tonight, are we?" Lobelia asked.

Brianna at first didn't know what to say as she didn't want to mention Gillian's visit to someone like Lobelia, even if they were distant cousins.

"No, not really." Brianna then replied "Just had a hungering for some chicken. Thought I'd satisfy myself."

"Seems you have better taste in food then in wardrobe." Lobelia responded before turning to look to her left "Darling, come, come!"

As Lobelia walked off, her poor husband who had just been observing the ribbons on a display at a stand after buying his wife some expensive fruit. Otho Sackville-Baggins honestly loved his wife and continually strived to make her happy. Unfortunately, she often than would tell him what he had to wear and she often made more trips to the market and threw more private parties then he could handle or afford. As he tried catching up to her, he caught sight of Brianna, then reached into his bag and handed her an apple.

"So, so sorry, cousin." he insisted "You know how my darling Lobelia is."

Brianna chuckled softly "It's alright. I'm fine. But thank you for the apple."

"Darling, come on!" Lobelia called out from a distance "I don't want to be late for bridge!"

"Coming, my angel!" Otho replied as he ran off to catch up to her.

Brianna rolled her eyes while smiling and resumed walking towards home which was across the bridge. She then saw a couple who had just purchased some baby clothes. The wife (who was rather lovely with blonde hair which was tucked in a bun under a hat and soft blue eyes) was in fact about six months pregnant and her and her husband (who had a somewhat odd shaped head) were planning a baby shower. Brianna recognized them instantly as Hamfast and Belle Gamgee and headed over to them just as they took notice of her.

"Brianna!" Belle exclaimed "So good to see you!"

"Thank you. I was just doing some shopping." Brianna replied "How's the baby doing in there?"

"Little guy's doing alright, ain't ya?" Hamfast said as he wrapped his arm around his wife and looked down affectionately at his wife's belly "Going to name him Sean if it's a boy."

"And Samantha if it's a girl." Belle replied.

Brianna chuckled. Seeing her friend drawing nearer to the delivery date reminded her of when her sister was inside her mom. It made her feel even more proud as the Gamgee's, being friends of the family, had made Brianna the godmother of the baby. It was then that a question popped up in Brianna's mind: was she the only one who had seen Gillian? Surely someone else had to have seen her.

"Pardon me for asking..." she said "...but did either of you happen to see a wizard today?"

Both Belle and Hamfast were somewhat perplexed by this question. Out of all the things Brianna could have asked them, that was the last thing they expected. Nonetheless, they took it in stride and looked to one another as they thought about a question.

"Hmmm...a wizard, you say?" Hamfast said.

"Tall figure?" Belle piped up.

"Big, pointy hat?" Hamfast said again.

While the two debated amongst themselves, Brianna caught sight of something that eerily looked like Gillian's hat. Overtaken with excitement, she stepped onto the bridge as the hat like thing moved through some hanging laundry.

"No, can't say that we have." both Hamfast and Belle said at once when they noticed Brianna had scurried to the side.

Now Brianna stood at least twelve feet away from the Gamgee's to their right and looked on from the bridge and saw that the "hat" was nothing more then some clothes piled up in a basket as two hobbits put them down by a stand. She sighed an exhausted sigh and crossed her arms.

"What are you looking at, Brianna?" Belle asked.

"I thought I saw something." she replied "But it's gone now. I best be heading off."

"Alright then." Belle responded as Brianna started to walk away "See you later!"

"Okay!" Brianna called back as she briefly turned around to wave.

As she resumed back home across the bridge, Brianna's worries about Gillian's strange sounding plan still troubled her. Why did the wizard come to her specifically? And more importantly, who were the others she mentioned?

That night, she'd find out.


	3. A Multi-Dwarf Pile Up

Having changed her stained dress when she got home for a fresh clean nightgown of the same color and length and a liberty blue night robe, Brianna looked out her door just as the last rays of sun began to leave the sky and a lovely night blue began to take over. Nope. Not a wizard in sight. Brianna stood there for about a minute and a half enjoying the sunset. The sunsets in the Shire looked positively gorgeous and her house had a great view point with windows on both the right and left. She sighed a great, big, happy sigh and then shut the door.

 _Yup._ she thought _Perfect evening for chicken._

She soon got to work in the kitchen breading the chicken and preparing it. She'd learned how to fry chicken from her mother who taught it to her sister too. Perhaps that was the thing she missed most about her sister and brother after they moved out: the fact that she could have a meal all to herself in the quiet. She did miss having someone to talk too but she usually attended parties and once went to a meeting of the Hobbiton Women's Club so she wouldn't be seen as a shut in. Now, however, she was glad to be alone and hoped no one would interrupt her quiet evening.

After about an hour or so, her chicken was finally done. It smelled fantastic and she couldn't wait to try it. She walked over to the table she had in the kitchen then quietly moved a chair into position. With everything set up, she brought out a nice big chicken thigh on her plate along with a fork and a knife. As she sat down, she could practically taste her dinner. She then dug the fork in and prepared to cut herself a piece with the knife.

And then the doorbell rang.

Brianna's eyes darted to both sides one after the other as she wondered who on earth could be visiting at this hour without knocking. She looked She got up and then walked towards the door, quickly glancing at the clock on the wall above the fireplace and noticed it was only 7:42.

 _That's not too late._ she thought as she continued walking _But still...guests are guests._

She reached the door and opened it, only to discover of all things a dwarf standing there. A dwarf woman to be precise. She had dark hair which she wore down, blue eyes and a slight bony structure to her face. She also looked to be in her early 50's. The top of her dress was pale aqua while the rest of her dress from the waist down (the dress extending to just below her kneecaps) was black. She was also at the moment wearing a wolf-skin coat and had a bag under her left arm which she was holding similar to the way one holds a rug before they set it on the floor.

"Daniella..." she said in a croaky, lilting accent as she curtsied "...at your service."

Brianna did likewise and curtsied back.

"Brianna Baggins at yours." she replied though still perplexed as the stranger entered her house "Do we know each other ma'am?"

Daniella turned and gave Brianna the most strange expression of confusion.

"No." she replied as she noticed Brianna's gown "Is that what you're wearing?"

Brianna glanced down briefly at her outfit. "Oh, this? I wasn't expecting company so I just slapped it on."

Daniella looked just as confused as Brianna did and then raised an eyebrow before she put down her bag on the floor and started to remove her coat.

"Well, show some damn decency." she said "Your nipples are showing right through it."

Brianna then shot her head down to look at her gown. It didn't seem to be true but just in case she tied the robe onto herself so that she covered her chest as she blushed with embarrassment while Daniella handed her coat and her bag to Brianna.

"Alright, which way, lass?" she inquired "Is it in the kitchen?"

"What's exactly are you talking about?" Brianna demanded.

"Dinner, of course." Daniella replied as she walked down the direction Brianna had just come "She said there'd be food! Lots of it!"

'She' said? Brianna thought as she hung up Daniella's coat Who the hell is she talking about?

She then noticed she was still holding Daniella's bag so she looked for a place to put it. She walked a little bit down the hall and noticed her mother's glory box to her left and decided that was good a place as any to put it. As she did so, she noticed she'd left the door open. She quickly rectified that and shut the door quietly. She then walked through her study back towards the kitchen to attend to her guest. Only to see Daniella had found her chicken and was devouring it as she came in with her hands. Brianna practically felt the taste of her dinner she'd been anticipating leave her mouth and just blinked in surprise.

"Wow, this is very good!" Daniella said between mouthfuls "Any more?"

Brianna decided it'd be best to keep this Daniella person entertained so she went and got the other piece of chicken on a plane on the counter behind Daniella.

"Here, help yourself." she said as she slid the plate onto the table.

"You have food ready and prepared." Daniella said smiling "Thank you, master hobbit. You have my gratitude."

"Oh, well thank you." Brianna replied nervously as Daniella returned to finishing off the chicken thigh "But the thing is...I wasn't expecting company."

No sooner had she said that then the doorbell rang again.

Brianna whipped her head to her right to look at the door. She thought one uninvited guest was bad enough but now apparently their was one more arriving. Daniella on the other hand looked as if she was expecting the visitor.

"That'll be the door." she said.

Brianna rolled her eyes and headed for the door with her arms folded. She unfolded them upon reaching the door and opened it, only to be met by a second dwarf. She had brown hair and eyes and wore a simple dress with soft white and light grey colors. Like the other one, her dress went down to just below her kneecaps but this one looked to be about her late 60's. She smiled a warm, gentle smile and chuckled.

"Barbara…" she said in a soft accent as she curtsied "...at your service."

Brianna smiled and nodded as she took notice of the night sky with the moon partially obscured by clouds.

"Good evening." she said.

"Oh, yes it is." Barbara replied "Though I think it might rain a bit later."

Brianna looked back up at the sky and none of the clouds really looked like rain clouds. But just in case she motioned for Barbara to enter which she did. As she shut the door behind her, Daniella walked in from the kitchen and and as soon as the two saw each other, they laughed as they walked into the living room next to the door and then embraced, for in actuality they were sisters.

"Evening, sister." Barbara said.

"Well, well, you're shorter and wider than last we met." Daniella said smugly.

"I'm wider, not shorter." Barbara pointed out "I see you had your tattoos on your hands removed."

"Yeah, they never really worked for me." Daniella responded "Besides, in exchange my husband shaved half his beard."

"Did he know?" Barbara asked.

"Oh yeah." Daniella replied trying to hold back a laugh "It's practically a stubble now."

"Young lass, are there any refreshments?" Barbara asked turning to Brianna.

Poor Brianna had been standing there flabbergasted by all these strange conversations about tattoos and beards and whatnot and now Barbara's question snapped her back into reality.

"Y-Yes, they're in the pantry near the kitchen." she said.

Daniella and Barbara headed in that direction immediately as Brianna followed after them via straight from the door, down the hall to the pantry where the dwarves had discovered her barrels of ale. That in particular dismayed her as she was saving the ale for a very special occasion. As they filled their glasses with the special faucet attached to the barrel, she decided to try and get some answers from them but it proved hard to ask them much of anything for fear of sounding rude. So she went through what to say while the girls talked about Daniella's husband's half-shaved beard.

"Alright, listen...I like visitors as much as the next hobbit." Brianna said nervously as the dwarf sisters noticed some cheese on a nearby shelf "But I like to know them before they come visiting my house."

"Oh dear me, look at this cheese!" Barbara exclaimed "It's gone all blue."

"It's riddled with mold." Daniella said as she went on "Got to be thrown out."

"Yeah, I've meaning to throw that out." Brianna tried to explain as Daniella casually threw the cheese into a nearby garbage tin "I see you've already taken care of that." she then looked back to the dwarves who were refilling their glasses "And please don't drink so much of my ale. I'm saving it for a baby shower."

"Baby shower?!" Daniella barked as she and her sister turned to Brianna "Are you pregnant?"

"Me? Oh good heavens no." Brianna replied "A friend of mine is and I was saving-"

"Oh, that's a relief!" Daniella said cutting her off "Can't have pregnant women on our quest."

"Wait, what quest?!" Brianna demanded while Barbara and Daniella ignored her and resumed talking "I've been quiet long enough but I had to make my opinion known! I'm sorry!"

Barbara and Daniella immediately stopped talking and turned to Brianna who had her arms folded (something she noticed she'd been doing quite a lot this evening). Barbara then smiled as did her sister.

"Apology accepted." she said.

Just then, the doorbell rang again. Twice in the span of five seconds.

"Better get the door now, lass." Daniella pointed out.

"I know." Brianna said in a deadpan tone as she walked to the door "You've told me before."

Brianna then reached the door, feeling rather exasperated dealing with two houseguests who went straight for her pantry. As she grasped the knob, she got the feeling this evening wasn't going to end soon enough. She opened the door and was greeted by two more dwarf women. Unlike the first two these two looked to be in their early thirties and certainly dressed like it with their dresses being the same length as Daniella and Barbara's. The first one had blonde hair that was cut short to about neck length and she had bright green eyes. Her dress looked to be a summer dress and was an assortment of varying colors in various patterns, the most prominent being red, purple, green and yellow. Her sister was dressed in similar summer attire though she was a little more singular with her dress color, with it being sea blue. Her hair was dark brown which was kept tucked up in bun and she had brown eyes. She was actually very beautiful for a dwarf and had a soft, nice face.

Both had weapons of varying sorts. The brown-haired one a quiver slung round her left shoulder with it overloaded with arrows and a bow tucked in at the far right of the quiver. She also had a sword tucked into it's sheath on her right side. The blonde one had a sword tucked into a sheath which was slung over her right shoulder via a strap.

"Frieda…" said the blonde one.

"And Kamilla…" said the brown-haired one.

"At your service!" they both said as they curtsied.

 _Oh no, more of them._ Brianna thought to herself.

"You must be Mrs. Baggins!" Kamilla said.

"Nope, you can't come in!" Brianna said in a desperate attempt to keep them out "You've come to the wrong house!"

As Brianna said this and began to shut the door, the two sisters looked positively worried.

"We came all this way and now it's cancelled?" she demanded.

"No one told us!" Frieda protested.

"What are you talking about?" Brianna inquired as she stopped the door halfway "Nothing's been cancelled."

"Oh, thank heavens!" Frieda exclaimed.

The two them slipped in through the half-way open door and Brianna was left in astonishment as they just walked into her house while she shut the door behind them and Kamilla slipped off her quiver loaded with arrows and handed it into Brianna who slung it over her own left shoulder while Frieda slipped off her sheathed sword.

"Careful with these." she said handing it to Brianna "We just had them sharpened." she then turned to her sister "Kamilla, give her yours."

"Alright then." Kamilla replied.

She then clipped her sheathed sword off her belt and gave it to Brianna who was holding Frieda's sheathed sword in both hands. Kamilla then looked around the room while Frieda reached into her dress pockets and drew out four knives much to poor Brianna's shock and placed them on top of the swords she was currently holding.

"You have a nice place." Kamilla said "Did you do it yourself?"

"No, it's been in the family for years." Brianna responded as Frieda handed her a fifth and final knife and placed it onto the over-growing pile of weapons Brianna was saddled with.

"And is this yours?" Kamilla asked as she looked down at the glory box tucked neatly behind the wall just down the hall.

"Well, not exactly." Brianna replied "It was my mothers."

"Oh, I see." Frieda said as she joined her sister "Must have bought it at a bad price."

"Yeah, it clashes with the feng shui of the room." Kamilla piped up.

"Feng shui?" Brianna asked in confusion "What?"

"Ah, girls you made it!" Daniella said as she walked in on the conversation "Come on, give us a hand."

"Coming." Kamilla said as she and Frieda followed after her.

By this point, Brianna was more confused and frankly more frustrated then before. Now she had four dwarf women in her house, messing around with her things when all she wanted was a nice quiet evening. She poked her head around the corner to see them moving things around in her dining room and was just about to speak up when the doorbell rang again. Hearing that doorbell seemed to be a trigger of some kind as Brianna whipped her head around and suddenly began feeling very cross.

"There's nobody home! Go away and bother somebody else!" she called out as she angrily threw Frieda and Kamilla's weapons onto the glory box "There's far too many damn dwarves in my dining room as it is! If this some idiots idea of a joke..." she continued as she stomped towards the door and then grasped the knob "...all I can say is that it's in very poor taste!"

Not ten seconds after she finished her rant and swung open the door, then about eight more dwarf women who had been pressed up against the door suddenly fell onto the floor and soon there was a pile about Brianna's height of dwarves, grumbling and bickering with each other as they tried to get up on their feet. And as they did so, Gillian the Grey poked her head out from behind a corner while simultaneously leaning downwards so she wouldn't be obscured by the door. Brianna made a face at Gillian which could be described as tired bitterness.

"Gillian." she said tiredly.

"My dear Brianna, I am so terribly sorry about the pile up on your doorstep." Gillian said before looking down at the girls "Girls, get up off the floor and properly introduce yourselves."

The girls did exactly that and one by one they introduced themselves. And here is the order in which they made their acquaintance:

First there was Bridget, Bertha and Beate. Bridget was a lovely if homely looking woman with nice features including light brown hair and eyes. Her hair was kept tucked back in a nice, comfortable bun and she wore a bright white dress. Bertha was Bridget's sister and very fair looking with bright blue eyes and golden blond hair which, like her sister, she kept in a bun and her dress was all-white just like her sisters. Beate was their cousin, who looked very homely compared to the two of them with somewhat curly dark brown hair and light brown eyes. She wore a summer dress that was all pink and a white vest and hat. Unexpectedly, she hid behind Bertha for a bit before nervously introducing herself.

Next there were siblings Dorothea, Nadja and Ottilie were next in line. Dorothea had blonde hair and blue eyes, with her hair being kept down and curling slightly at the edges. Her dress was black on top but from the waist down was a somewhat dark shade of green with drawings of trees sewn on it. Nadja had on a pistachio green light coat with a white vest that had the occasional red shape sewn on it and a flower colored dress. Her eyes were brown while her hair was light brown and was tucked back in a ponytail but in such a way as it drooped over her right shoulder. Ottilie was the youngest of the two and the youngest of the group and like Beate she had looked very homely. Like Nadja, she had brown eyes while her brown hair was cut to about the same length as Frieda's and she wore a simple soft aqua dress with a red vest.

And finally there was the last two who were also the last two siblings: Ophelia and Gerlinde. Ophelia was one of the more beautiful members of the company with bright blue eyes and a somewhat more earthy looking blonde hair topped off by her dark cyan colored dress. Her sister Gerlinde was quite lovely herself with long, brown hair and soft brown eyes. She had a gentle face and wore a black dress.

The one thing these girls all shared in common was that their dresses were the same length as the previous four: down to just below the kneecap.

"At your service!" they all said at once as they curtsied.

Needless to say, having at least twelve dwarfs in her house was the last thing she wanted. She then sighed as she facepalmed while everyone just looked to each other nervously, wondering who should speak first.

"W-Where's the kitchen?" Beate finally said breaking the awkward silence.

Brianna didn't respond verbally but instead pointed directly towards the kitchen. The girls then walked past Brianna towards the kitchen. Gillian decided it'd be best if she also entered so she quietly made her way in while Brianna shut the door. She then looked to Gillian with a very cross look. Gillian was about to say something when Brianna began walking away and turned a corner to the left.

"Where are you going, Brianna?" Gillian asked.

"To clear my head!" Brianna called back without even turning around.


	4. That's a Dwarvish Bet

After about a minute of being in the bathroom and doing some breathing exercises, Brianna walked into the hallway between the dining room and the pantry only to find the girls moving around the hall as they crossed from the respective rooms, carrying or holding food, drinks or chairs. Brianna felt as if she was on the verge of a heart attack so she decided to do something about it. She attempt to squeeze in while trying to make sure she wouldn't bump into anyone and soon she was in the center of the room, only for the girls to maneuver around her.

"Hey, put that back!" she demanded uselessly "That's my chicken, excuse me! Put that back!" she continued as she saw Bridget carrying two full cheese wheels "Careful with that! Do you have a cheese knife?"

"Cheese knife?" Bertha replied as she walked past with her sister "She eats it by the block."

 _Oh, that's a comfort._ Brianna thought to herself.

Suddenly someone bumped into her from behind and then hastily went around her so that they were now in front of her. The person turned out to be Beate of all people. To Brianna's surprise she looked very apologetic.

"Oh m-my goodness, I-I-I'm so sorry!" she stammered "I-I didn't mean to bump into like that! I'll get out of your way."

As she walked away into the pantry, Brianna was joined by Ophelia standing in the middle of the hallway with everyone else walking back and forth around them.

"Don't mind her, Mrs. Baggins." she said "She's a little...off."

"Why is that?" Brianna asked.

"What?" Ophelia barked "Hang on a sec..."

Ophelia then reached into her right pocket and pulled out a tube that had been re-designed as a makeshift hearing aid.

"Okay, what were you saying?" she asked.

"Why is Beate 'off?'" Brianna asked again.

"Trust me, lassie..." Ophelia replied "...you don't wanna know."

As Ophelia walked away and Brianna resumed trying to get everyone to stop touching her food, Gillian was busy in the dining room setting up utensils for the girls so they wouldn't ruin Brianna's table. Barbara also was sitting down comfortably to Gillian's right, making sure that the food was gently placed and arranged so that it didn't spill over. Gillian then felt a tug on the back of her dress and turned to see Dorothea leaning in from a doorway behind her.

"Pardon me, Mrs. Gillian..." she said "...but can I get you anything?"

"A little red wine will do." Gillian replied.

"I'm on it." Dorothea said before she walked back into the room she was originally was.

Gillian meanwhile stepped out carefully into the living room, quickly turning round to make sure she didn't slam into anyone. She did bump into Brianna's chandelier though and then ducked under it while she re-positioned it slightly. She found herself standing in the middle of the room with the girls walking around her like how water flows round a rock, now not holding food but just talking. The girls chittered and chattered amongst themselves as they passed with Brianna still desperately trying to maintain order. Poor Gillian was quickly overcome with pity for the poor hobbit and decided to do something about it. She then whistled loudly and everyone stopped dead in their tracks and looked to Gillian. Daniella in particular was standing just outside the dining room with Bridget and Barbara in the dining room itself with Barbara sitting on the middle right part of the table while Bridget sat directly at the front facing the hallway. Gillian then cleared her throat while keeping her reserved atmosphere.

"Alright girls, I think we have more then enough food." she said "Go and take your seats in an orderly manner."

The girls did as commanded and then proceeded in a line into the dining room to be seated. They also knew Gillian was attempting a roll call. Gillian did so in her head and made sure to include Dorothea who was still in the kitchen. As the girls walked by, Gillian discovered one was missing.

"Oh dear." she said turning to Daniella who still standing outside the dining room "We appear to be one short."

"She's late is all." Daniella replied "She travelled north to a meeting of our kin. She will come."

As Daniella made her way into the dining room, Dorothea finally emerged from the kitchen with two glasses of red wine in her hands. Now only her, Gillian and Brianna were the only ones in the hall.

"Gillian, a glass of red wine as requested." Dorothea said "It tastes rather good if I do say so."

"Oh, thank you." Gillian said "Well...cheers."

The two then drunk the wine simultaneously and much to Gillian's surprise it was as good as Dorothea made it sound. In the dining room, the clamour had gotten louder and more excited and Daniela looked from where she was at the two just as they finished their drinks.

"Dorothea!" she called out "Come join us!"

"Yeah, come on sis!" Ottilie called out.

Dorothea chuckled softly. "Alright, here I come."

As Dorothea joined the fun, Gillian turned to her right and saw Brianna sitting down on a little stool in her pantry, blankly staring at her half-empty pantry which not too long ago had been full of food. Gillian took pity on the hobbit and decided to sit down with her. In a surprising contrast with the loud kafuffle in the dining room of the girls eating and laughing, the two just sat there in silence as Gillian took out her smoking pipe in one hand and then sprinkled some black powder into the pipe with her other hand. She then snapped her fingers and a spark shot out into the pipe and she then put the end of it in her mouth. Brianna then tiredly looked towards Gillian as she commenced her pipe smoking as a loud uproar sounded off from the dining room.

"Please make them stop." Brianna said in an exhausted tone.

Gillian coughed slightly as she exhaled and smoke emerged from her nostrils and mouth before she turned to Brianna.

"They'll get tired eventually." Gillian said "I'll make sure your house is still standing after tonight."

"I sure as hell hope you." Brianna replied.

In the dining room as Brianna and Gillian talked, the girls feasted on the food they'd placed on the table. All kinds of food was there: chicken, sausages, pasta, fruit, chips, pound cake, you name it, all topped up with glasses filled with ale. As they ate and laughed amongst themselves, they talked about what had been going on in their lives and their nature in gathering here. You see, unbeknownst to Brianna, they'd spent a year and a half planning this little trip of theirs, with Gerlinde (the groups accountant) having gotten the money together to finance the trip and everyone having to convince their families to let them go on this trip. The exact nature of the quest will be revealed in due time but at the moment Bertha saw an opportunity to have some fun with her sister.

Bridget and Bertha both sat facing each other with Bertha's back facing the hall. Bridget was at the moment enjoying some good sausage as Bertha picked up a meatball from her pasta and gave her sister a mischievous look.

"Hey, Bridget!" she called out "Catch!"

Bridget seemed to instantly sense the meatball coming at her as Bertha threw it for she immediately opened her mouth wide and managed to catch the meatball in her mouth with ease. Everyone in the room simultaneously laughed and cheered at the same time, causing that uproar that Brianna and Gillian heard. Nadja in particular got so excited that she almost spilled her wine much to Dorothea's dismay.

"Nadja, behave yourself!" she barked.

"Oh come on, don't be such a kill-joy!" Nadja laughed.

"Yeah, let her enjoy herself!" Daniella insisted.

"Don't bother with her girls." Kamilla said smugly "That's why she's never had a boyfriend."

"I could get one!" Dorothea exclaimed "Well before you ever could."

Everyone suddenly fell silent and oohed as Kamilla looked very shocked by what Dorothea said. Kamilla, by the dwarf standards, was very beautiful and was known amongst the group as attracting more suitors than Bertha had or any other of the company members. And while Dorothea certainly knew how to interact with others but she did tend to take things somewhat seriously even if they didn't call for it and saw herself as the guardian for her two sisters since her five brothers were too busy. That of course made her the target of many jabs from her sisters and it wasn't uncommon for her to be re-referred to as a "kill-joy" as Nadja liked to put it. So Kamilla was naturally surprised by her boast but couldn't resist a challenge.

"Is that a bet?" she asked.

"Call it what you will but yes it is." Dorothea replied.

"Alright then..." Kamilla said as she placed her hands on the table "...if I win and get married before you, you have to do my laundry for a month."

Everyone muttered in agreement while Dorothea didn't seem phased by what Kamilla said.

"I see." she said "And if I win, I get your bow and arrow and you have to sew me my wedding dress."

Kamilla raised an eyebrow as she smirked while everyone again murmured to themselves before she turned to her sister Frieda who was sitting with her arms folded and who had remained quiet for the whole thing.

"What do you think, Frieda?" Kamilla asked "Should I take this bet?"

Frieda sighed. _This is just like her._ she thought _Jumping into a challenge like this._

"It's up to you really." she finally said.

Everyone agreed that made sense for the time being and Kamilla looked back to Dorothea.

"Okay." she said "You got yourself a deal."

Dorothea chuckled softly as everyone returned to their dinner. Brianna still sat quietly on the other side of the room near the pantry and kitchen with her head now against the wall while Gillian simply continued to smoke her pipe. Dwarves took a lot of getting used to and the wizard knew that if all went well, this hobbit whose house they'd practically invaded would have a lot of time to get to used them.


	5. Better Oakenshield Then Never

After dinner, the girls then went roundabout the house discussing things and seeing if there was any desert left. This once again put Brianna in a state of worry and most of the girls were in the kitchen as she entered there, only to discover that Nadja was wiping her mouth with what she thought was a regular cloth but was actually Brianna's ill-fated doily when she'd hand-sewn about a year ago. She gasped in horror upon noticing a large tear in it and then snatched it out of Nadja's hands much to Nadja's shock while Bertha who was to Brianna's left looked perplexed.

"What have you done?! That is a doily, not a dish cloth!" Brianna protested.

"But it's full of holes." Bertha pointed out.

"It's supposed to be like that, it's crochet!" Brianna argued before pointing to the massive tear in the cloth "And the hole isn't supposed to be this big! It's ruined!"

Beate suddenly sprang up from where she was sitting (which had been right next to a nearby table) with a worried look on her face and then snatched the cloth out of Brianna's hand as she left the room, leaving Brianna simultaneously flabbergasted and angry. The angry part soon got the better of her and she turned away from the girls and then slammed her fists on a desk just as Gillian stepped in.

"Damn these bloody dwarves!" she blurted out.

"My dear Brianna, whatever is the matter?" Gillian asked "Never thought you'd be capable of such language!"

"Well, in case you haven't noticed I'm surrounded by dwarves!" Brianna replied harshly "What are they doing in my house?!"

"Oh, they're quite a merry gathering..." Gillian responded as she and Brianna began to walk out into the hall "...once you get used to them."

"But I don't want to get used to them!" Brianna whined.

She finished talking as she walked ahead of Gillian then stopped and turned to face her. Gillian looked somewhat cross with her and in Gillian's defense Brianna had somewhat over-reacted. Brianna quickly realized this and sighed tiredly as she rubbed the left side of her head with her right arm wrapped round her waist.

"I'm terribly sorry if I acted out of turn." she said as she then folded her arms "It's just...I don't understand what they're doing in my house."

Just then, Ottilie walked in holding a plate with both hands and tapped Brianna on the shoulder much to the hobbit's surprise.

"Excuse me, I'd hate to interrupt..." Ottilie said innocently "But what should I do with my plate?"

"Here, Ottilie, give it to me." Frieda replied as she walked in on the conversation.

She then took the plate, motioned for Gillian to move against the wall and when she did so, she threw the plate towards Kamilla who was standing next to the kitchen entrance. Kamilla instantly caught it and threw it into the kitchen. Brianna gasped in fright as then Frieda was handed more dishes, bowls and mugs which were promptly thrown to Kamilla which were then finally thrown into the kitchen. There then began a rhythmic clinking and clanging from the kitchen. Brianna ran into the hallway between the dining room and kitchen to see the girls who were sitting clicking the knives and forks together.

"Oh goodness gracious!" she exclaimed "Can you please not do that?! You'll blunt them!"

"Oooh, you hear that girls?" Bertha laughed "She says we'll blunt the knives!"

"Really now?" Gerlinde barked "Imagine that!"

And then, much to both Gillian and Brianna's surprise, some of the girls pulled out instruments and began to play some music before they promptly started singing. And this is what they sung:

 _Blunt the knives! Bend the forks!_

 _Smash the bottles and burn the corks!_

 _Chip the glasses and crack the plates!_

 _That's what Mrs. Baggins hates!_

 _Cut the cloth! Trail the fat!_

 _Leave the bones on the bedroom mat!_

 _Pour the milk on the pantry floor!_

 _And splash the wine on every door!_

 _Dump the crocks in a boiling bowl!_

 _Pound them up with a thumping pole!_

 _And when you've finished if they are whole..._

 _...send them down the hall to roll!_

 _Rip her dresses! Muddy the rug!_

 _Break all the drinking mugs!_

 _Wear out her shoes! Mess up the bed!_

 _Pillage the pantry! Toss out the bread!_

 _Blunt the knives! Bend the forks!_

 _Smash the bottles and burn the corks!_

 _Chip the glasses and crack the plates!_

 _That's what Mrs. Baggins hates!_

None of these dreadful things they actually did but Brianna was so overcome with fear, combined with the general stress of the evening, that it proved to be too much for her and sue ran into the kitchen...only to find nothing broken. Nothing chipped, nothing shattered, not even a carpet stain. The girls had stacked up all the plates, bowls, mugs and dishes neatly and had cleaned them during the course of the song. Gillian then walked and it was her turn to sigh with relief though Brianna was aghast by what she saw. The girls took notice of her somewhat bizarre shocked expression.

"Don't make that kind of face so many times." Daniella chuckled while holding her fiddle "It'll get stuck like that."

Brianna then let out an irritated sigh and then cleared her throat.

"I will be right back in a moment." she said "I'm just...just heading off to my room for a bit."

She walked off then without saying another word leaving the girls alone in the kitchen. It was then that Bertha looked around and noticed that Beate wasn't with them. In fact, she hadn't been with them since she grabbed Brianna's cloth.

"Beate?!" Bertha called out "Where are you?!"

"I'm in the longue!" she responded from seemingly far away.

The girls looked down the hall to their left and saw that other than Brianna's room on the right, there was another opening to the left where the unmistakable glow of a fire could be seen.

"What are you doing all the way over there?" Bridget demanded.

"I'm busy!" Beate yelled back.

Brianna spent about two minutes in her room, regaining her senses and trying to calm herself down. This evening had been, beyond the shadow of a doubt, the strangest and least enjoyable night of her life. Her entire kitchen and pantry had been emptied as if an invisible tempest had gone through and they seemed to think that singing a song about breaking dishes and plates was amusing. She then sat down on the edge of her bed, which was a beautiful bed that had been passed down through the family for generations and had lovely white pillows and sheets as well as curtains.

She pondered what to do for the rest of the evening. She had only two guest rooms and even then that clearly wouldn't be enough for everyone. Would she have to end up sleeping on the couch or would she have to have them sleep on the floor in sleeping bags. She shuddered at that last part. She sighed and decided that she was being silly. If they did decide to stay, she'd do her best to find a way to accommodate them. Even if it meant sleeping on her couch.

Her thoughts were then interrupted by a knock on her bedroom door. It was a soft, gentle knock but still audible, as if the person on the other end was scared to come in. Brianna did wonder who it could be as she walked towards the door (making sure to tighten the straps on her robe) and leaned against it.

"Who is it?" she asked.

"It's me." said a familiar voice "Beate."

Brianna then stepped back a bit and opened the door to she Beate holding something in her hand and looking very embarrassed. She then extended her left arm forward and gave Brianna her doily before immediately retracting her hand as Brianna took it. Brianna gasped in surprise but this time not in an angry way. The doily was not only repaired but in fact had even better stitching then before.

"It's incredible." she said still in awe "You'd never know there was a tear!"

She then looked to Beate who had her head facing downwards to the floor. This surprised Brianna because out of all the girls, she was the one who was trying her best not to cause a mess. Beate then looked back up at Brianna looking somewhat more confident and smiling a soft, gentle smile though her shyness sought to overtake her.

"I-I'm a toymaker where I come from. And I know how to sew." she said "P-Point is...I know how to fix things. So I thought you might like us more if we repaired some of the damage we may have caused."

Brianna smiled. "That's very sweet. Thank you."

"So..." Beate inquired "...you're not angry with me?"

"Of course not." Brianna replied gently "Besides, I think I've let out all my anger already during dinner."

"Cousin!" Bertha called out from the living room "Come now, we're about to start!"

"I'm coming!" Beate replied back before turning back to Brianna "Are you coming too? Barbara says you are the host."

At first, Brianna thought about saying no but she suddenly felt rather guilty for even thinking of saying no, especially after seeing what lengths Beate had gone to to apologize. She quite frankly looked like someone who didn't have a lot of friends back home (which, unbeknownst to Brianna, was true) and maybe this act of fixing the doily was an attempt at making friends, something which Brianna could understand.

"Alright, here I come." she finally said.

Promptly setting the doily safely on her dresser near her bedroom mirror, she followed Beate into the living room where the girls all stood and Brianna then promptly took a seat in a nearby chair. Gillian stood at the far end of the group and nearest the door with her head tucked down slightly to avoid hitting the ceiling.

"Where is she?" Nadja asked.

"She can't start the meeting without her." Barbara said "That was part of the arrangement."

"But she's taking too long!" Bridget piped up "Let's just go on without her."

"Bridget, Barbara is right." Gillian replied sternly "Our meeting will not commence until she has arrived."

"Who?" Brianna finally asked.

"Our leader." Dorothea responded "And your last guest."

"How will we know when she's here?" Kamilla asked.

All of a sudden there was this loud baging noise on the door like someone was hitting it with a mallet. Everyone's heads turned to the door almost instantly and Gillian gave out a small chuckle.

"That's how." she said.

She then walked towards the door and promptly opened it while everyone stood where they were though Frieda and Kamilla looked noticeably more excited than everyone else. And at the door stood another and final dwarf woman.

She had a homely yet beautiful face with bright blue eyes and a soft smile. Her hair was jet black save for a few grey strands of hair near her forehead. Her hair was braided slightly so it could be let down but qualify as a barebones ponytail. She was at the moment wearing a dark navy blue dress that, like all the other girls save for Gillian and Brianna, went all the way down to just below her kneecaps. She also had something strapped to her back that looked like a block of wood and she had a sword which was sheathed on her left side.

"Gillian." she said in a deep but throaty and raspy voice "I apologize. I lost my way twice over." she continued as she walked in "I finally found this place thanks to the mark on the door."

"Whoa, wait what mark?" Brianna asked as she stepped forward "There is no mark! I had that door painted a week ago!"

"There is a mark there." Gillian said as she shut the door "I put it there myself."

"Aunt Traude!" Kamilla exclaimed happily.

Both her and Frieda hurried over to their aunt as she slid the wooden makeshift shield off her back, put it down on the floor and then proceeded to be embraced by her nieces who hugged her so hard she almost fell over.

"It's good to see you too." Traude replied.

The three of them laughed as they embraced while Traude balanced herself before promptly breaking the hug and looking proudly at her two nieces.

"My goodness, look at how big you two are." she said smiling "Your mother would be so proud."

Brianna then cleared her throat but in a way she hoped sounded polite and Traude drew her attention to the hobbit and began scanning her with her eyes carefully while Brianna in turn didn't quite what to make of yet another dwarf woman crashing at her house. Gillain, on the other hand, seemed to have everything under control.

"Brianna Baggins, allow me to introduce the leader of our company." she said "Lady Traude Oakenshield."

 _What an unusual name._ Brianna thought as she promptly curtsied while Traude did the same.

"So...this is the hobbit." Traude said "Tell me, have you ever fought, young lady?"

"I'm sorry?" Brianna asked.

"Axe or sword." Traude continued "What's your weapon of choice?"

"Oh! Well, let's see..." Brianna said as she looked for a right answer "...to be honest, I've never actually fought before."

Traude sighed. "I see. Now then, Barbara," she said as she turned to Barbara "shall we begin the meeting?"

"Aye." Barbara replied "Come along, girls."

Everyone then made their way to the dining room while Brianna was still perplexed about what exactly was going on. Was THIS why the girls had gathered here? For a meeting. There was only one way to find out as she followed Gillian who trailed behind the company of thirteen dwarves.


	6. You Got to Plan Ahead to Kill a Dragon

All the girls sat round the dining room table with some candles at the tables center illuminating the room and Traude sitting at the center with her back facing the hallway. Bridget sat where'd she'd originally sat and Bertha and Barbara were closest to her on the right while Daniella and Ophelia sat closest to her on her left. Gillian sat down nearby in a chair while Brianna sat on the stool just across from Gillian and they were both to Traude's far left and far right respectively. Everyone was excited and finding it difficult to contain their excitement. For you see, Traude had gone to a meeting of the envoys of the seven dwarf kingdoms that she had assembled and the girls were eager to hear the news, especially since Traude's cousin Deborah Ironfoot was there. Everyone's eyes were fixed on Traude who kept herself collected and calm. Everyone also had with them mugs filled with water being careful to keep them away from the candles to avoid spilling.

"Now, let's get down to business." Barbara said "What news from the meeting in Ered Luin?"

"Did they all come?" Bridget asked.

"They did. Envoys from all seven kingdoms." Traude replied before looking to Frieda and Kamilla "And your mother was there."

"She was?" Kamilla inquired.

"That's great!" Frieda said "How was she? Did you speak with her?"

"I did." Traude responded softly "She asked after you two and I told her you were doing well."

"Who else did you talk to?" Nadja asked.

"Tell us!" Ottilie insisted.

"What of the Iron Hills?" Daniella asked.

"Slow down, girls!" Gillian said from behind "I'm sure she has much to say but you must give her time to say it."

"Quite right." Barbara said in agreement "Daniella, go ahead."

Daniella cleared her throat and looked to Traude. "What do the dwarves of the Iron Hills say? Is Deborah with us?"

Traude sighed, looked downwards slightly and started wringing her hands on the table, which caused some of the group to become concerned over what she was going to say. She then looked back to the group with a somewhat tired look on her face.

"They will not come." she said.

The girls enthusiasm died down quickly, especially on some of the younger members of the group who looked downright broken-hearted by the news. The journey they were about to go on would at most require an army of great size and they numbered just thirteen. And now they didn't even have an army. In that brief moment they felt very alone and very small, even smaller than they already naturally were being dwarves and all. Both Gillian and Traude could see this and Traude knew she couldn't sugarcoat the situation. After what seemed like an eternity of silence, Bertha decided to speak up.

"W-Well, why wouldn't they?" she asked.

Traude stopped wringing her hands and just kept them cupped together as she looked at Bertha.

"They said that this quest was ours and ours alone." she finally said "And Deborah thought me mad and said that I just let things be."

"Of course she'd say that." Beate said rolling her eyes.

"Excuse me." Brianna suddenly piped up from behind.

Everyone stopped and looked back towards Brianna, who had now decided enough was enough and that she was entitled to know just whatever the hell these dwarves were doing here and what 'quest' they were discussing.

"Where are all of you going exactly?" she asked politely.

"I'm glad you asked, Brianna." Gillian said as she got up "Why don't you bring my chair into the room?"

Brianna nodded and quickly made her way to the chair while Gillian moved to Traude's left next to Daniella. Gillian then reached into her robe pocket and began unfolding a large piece of paper.

"Far to the East beyond woodlands and wastelands…" Gillian said as she placed the unfolded paper onto the table "...lies a single solitary peak."

Brianna finished moving the chair in (being careful not to make too much noise) as Gillian placed the paper down and Brianna leaned in as Gillian sat down in the newly set up chair and discovered it was actually a map. It was a simple yet elaborate map containing a drawing of a mountain that seemed to stick out of the ground like a rocky triangle which had drawn above it a drawing of a dragon drawn in red ink. There was also drawings of a river extended from both sides of the mountain giving the indication there was an underground lake. There was also near the map's center a tiny drawing of a city. The map itself in general had writing all over it giving the names of various locations. Most curious of all was to the maps far right wherein there was a drawing of a hand pointing towards a remote section of the mountain and next to the hand was written something in dwarvish that Brianna couldn't read. But her eyes were fixed on the writing above the hand.

"'The Lonely Mountain'?" she asked as she read the writing aloud.

"Yup, that's where we're going." Gerlinde said "And Ottilie and Ophelia here have been doing their research and discovered we'll have no better time to go."

"How so?" Brianna asked again.

"Raven's and other birds have been returning to the mountain." Ophelia replied "It's just like the prophecy says. 'When the birds of yore return to Erebor...'"

'...then the reign of the beast will end.'" Ottilie continued "'And the dwarves will dwell in the mountain once again.'"

Brianna was moving over to Traude's right and temporarily froze when she heard the words 'the beast'. That didn't sound pleasant at all but there was something about the way Ottilie said it that troubled her.

"What beast?" she asked.

"Smaug the Terrible." Bertha explained "Chiefest and greatest calamity of our age."

"Airborne fire breathing dragon." Nadja added "Teeth like razors, claws like mea-"

"Yes, I know what a dragon is." Brianna said cutting her off.

All of a sudden, Ottilie stood up with a big if somewhat mischievous smile on her face, much to the surprise of everyone.

"Well, dragon or no, I'm not afraid! I'm up for it!" she exclaimed "I'll give him a taste of dwarf iron right down his throat!"

Most of the room the started clapping and voicing their approval of what Ottilie, though Dorothea and Barbara looked noticeably more concerned than the others.

"That a girl!" Nadja said clapping in approval.

"At least sit down!" Dorothea barked as she seated Ottilie again "You'll do no such thing!"

"Don't try and hamper her courageous spirit, Dorothea." Traude chuckled "We'll need it after all."

"She's right. The task would be difficult enough with an army behind us." Barbara said in agreement "But now we don't even have that. It's just us thirteen against one dragon."

"Barbara, we may be few in number..." Frieda piped up "...but we're fighters. Same as our men back home!"

"And besides, we have Gillian with us!" Kamilla added "She'll have killed hundreds of dragons in her time!"

"Wait, what?" Gillian exclaimed "Girls, I don't see-"

"How many?" Bridget asked after having stayed quiet for much of the meeting.

"Beg your pardon?" Gillian inquired.

"How many dragons have you killed?" Bridget asked again.

"Oh...well..." Gillian said hesitantly as she tried to change the subject by smoking her pipe once more.

"Come on, tell us!" Gerlinde asked.

The girls then began chanting 'Tell us, tell us!' over and over again, even though it was plain Gillian just wanted the meeting to get back on track. Brianna kept quiet and just observed as the girls continued chanting, only for Traude to yell something in dwarvish as she stood up, causing everyone to shut up and sit down.

"We have a bigger problem. Smaug hasn't been seen for sixty years and the vast treasure of our people now could lie unguarded." Traude explained "For all we know, others will have read the signs Ottilie and Ophelia have. Now what say you? Do we stand by and watch while men, elves and who knows what else claim what is ours?" she went on as she clenched her left hand into a fist "Or do we seize this chance to take back Erebor and bring our curses home to Smaug?!"

Everyone then roared with cheer in agreement with Bridget almost spilling her drink but managing to balance her mug. Traude smiled proudly and sat back down, feeling very proud of herself and of her companions.

"But how will we get in?" Beate brought up "Isn't the front door sealed?"

The girls then moaned in irritation when they realized she was right.

"Yeah, it is." Kamilla said.

"Great, we can't even get inside the damn mountain." Nadja groaned.

"That, my dear Nadja, is not entirely true." Gillian said.

"What do you mean?" Traude asked.

Gillian smiled and reached into the right pocket of her dress and pulled out a key very slowly. It was a beautifully carved key of solid gold with a tiny little string attached to it in loop form as a makeshift key-chain. Traude eye's widened as she saw the key and she looked as if she'd seen a ghost. Everyone else gasped in surprise but very softly.

"W-Where did you get this?" Traude finally said.

"It was given to me by Thrain, your father." Gillian replied as she handed the key to Traude "It is yours now. May it serve you well."

Traude looked carefully at the key still in amazement as she held it up to her face. This simple key was one of the last relics of her father. Of better times before the destruction of her home. Memories she longed to re-live but knew nothing would be the same after all. After what seemed like an eternity when in reality it was only a few seconds, she put the key in her pocket. The other girls now felt more confident in themselves though they wondered what kind of door the key was meant for.

"Gillian, is there another way into a mountain?" Frieda finally asked "Hence the key?"

"Precisely." Gillian responded.

She then used the pipe in her left hand to point to the drawing of the hand with dwarvish written next to it.

"These runes speak of a hidden passage on this side of the mountain." she continued "One that leads directly into the heart of the mountain."

"Well that shouldn't be too hard." Bridget said.

"As long as we can find it, but dwarf doors are invisible when closed." Gillian explained "I have not the skill to read it. But there are others in Middle-Earth who can. The task we face will require a great deal of stealth and quick thinking but I'm confident we can pull this hen looff."

"Oh I see!" Ottilie said "That's why we need a burglar!"

"And a good one too." Brianna finally said with her arms folded and smiling "An expert I'd imagine."

"And are you?" Ophelia inquired.

Brianna then looked to her as Ophelia brought up her hearing aid to her damaged ear as everyone else turned their eyes to Brianna. At first, the hobbit didn't know what exactly what Ophelia was talking about.

"Am I what?" Brianna asked.

"She said she's an expert!" Ophelia exclaimed happilly "I knew it!"

"Hang on a minute!" Brianna protested "I've never done anything like this in my life!"

"I'm afraid I have to agree." Barbara said "She hardly seems like burgalar material."

"Well, we won't know if you don't give her a chance!" Beate suddenly piped up "And if Gillian chose her, it has to be for a reason."

"You're quite right, Beate. Hobbits are light and quick on their feet." Gillian said smiling "They can pass unseen by most people which gives us a distinct advantage. And while Smaug would smell us coming from a mile away, the scent of a hobbit is unknown to him."

Everyone then muttered in agreement and Traude nodded her head. That was all the approval they needed. She then turned to look at Barbara while her hands were on the table cupped together and Brianna still was nervously curious about what exactly they wanted her to steal, if she was going to steal anything at all.

"Right. Barbara, give her the contract." Traude ordered.

"Contract?" Brianna asked.

"That's right, lass." Barbara replied as she reached into her bag and pulled out a large folded piece of paper "Just the necessary requirements. Payment, time required." she paused briefly as Brianna took the contract "Funeral arrangements."

"F-F-Funeral arrangements?!" Brianna stammered as she walked into the hall "Goodness gracious, I hope we won't have those dreadful things."

As Brianna unfolded the contract and was stunned to see it stretched all the way to her knees as she started reading it aloud quietly to herself, Traude motioned for Gillian to lean in closer so she could whisper something in her ear. Gillian did as commanded and leaned in.

"You must understand one thing, Gillian." Traude whispered "I can't guarantee her safety and she'll have to be responsible for her own fate."

Gillian cautiously nodded. "I understand. But please make sure she's unharmed on this journey."

"Fair enough." Traude replied.

"'...the party which have signed up for will not be held accountable for any injuries sustained on your journey.'" Brianna went on as she read the contract aloud "'Such as lacerations...i-incineration?!'"

"Oh yeah, he'll fry you like a boiled egg in seconds." Nadja said.

Brianna then suddenly didn't feel quite right upon hearing that and her breathing started to become erratic as she put her hands on her knees and bent over slightly, with the contract still in her grasp.

"Are you alright, lass?" Barbara asked.

"I'm perfectly fine." Brianna lied in between breaths "I feel a bit faint though."

"All I said was 'boiled egg'." Nadja protested "It's not like I said 'You're dead meat.'"

That just made Brianna feel worse and she then clenched her fists and shut her eyes, while in doing so dropping the contract on the floor. At the same time, Dorothea became very cross with Nadja and then smacked her right in the back of the head like one does a spoiled child who won't stop complaining.

"Ow!" Nadja barked rubbing the back of her head "That hurt!"

"Serves you right." Beate said "You're scaring her!"

Everyone then turned around and looked at Brianna with worry, as they could see her skin becoming slightly pale even as her breathing steadied. Traude was just about to get up and help her sit down, but Brianna immediately put up her finger and shook it, giving Traude the signal to sit down and mind her own business. Traude sat down as Brianna continued to try her best to resist passing out.

"Mrs. Baggins?" Bridget inquired softly "Do you need to lie down?"

Brianna finally righted herself up and stood up normally though her eyes still were closed. She opened them as she took a deep breath and exhaled, all the while looking up at the ceiling. And then that fainting spell came over her like lightning immediately after she exhaled.

"Nope." she finally said.

And with that, she flopped onto the floor unconscious much to everyone's surprise, who just looked down at her dumbfoundedly.

"Well, guess that concludes our meeting." Gillian said as she rubbed her forehead in irritation.


	7. A Tale or Two

A little while later, Brianna was sitting in her rec room next to the fireplace and which was close to her bedroom. She'd woken up about two minutes ago and Gillian had gotten her some warm tea and she had a blanket draped in her from the waist downward. She was still recovering from her panic attack earlier and nervously sipped her tea. Gillian, however, looked somewhat annoyed with her host.

"I-I'll be fine, I just need a few minutes rest!" Brianna said.

"You've 'rested' four different times this evening!" Gillian barked "Tell me, when your mother's dishes and doilies become important to you?"

"Since I found better things to do with my time." Brianna replied dryly.

Gillian blinked in shock while Brianna instantly realized how rude she'd been and sighed a tired yet sincere sigh.

"I'm sorry, that was rude." she said.

"Apology accepted." Gillian replied.

"It's just that...well, that doesn't sound like me." Brianna continued "I can't just go off running into the blue. I am a Baggins of Bag-End. And I hope to stay one."

"Yes, you're a Baggins. But you are also a Took." Gillian said "Did you know that your great, great, great, great uncle Bandobras Took was so tall he could ride a real horse?"

"Of course I do." Brianna replied.

"Then you'll know that during the Battle of Green Fields he charged the goblin ranks." Gillian went on as she took a seat in a rocking chair in front of Brianna "And he knocked the goblin kings head clean off with one strike of his club and it flew halfway across the field and landed in a rabbit hole. And thus the day was won and the game of golf invented at the same time."

Brianna chuckled softly. She always was amused by that story, even at a young age. Gillian smiled as she observed the hobbit. As much as Brianna wanted to deny it, Gillian could see there was a part of her that wanted to see what the world outside the Shire had to offer, both good and bad. Gillian knew that was always a part of her and she worried it would wither and die if unchecked for longer than it had already been.

"You know, it's funny." Gillian said.

"What?" Brianna inquired.

"I seem to recall you as a little girl staying out late one time I visited here. Chasing fireflies and coming back into the house trailing mud." Gillian said smiling "A little girl who wanted nothing more then to see what lay beyond the borders of the Shire."

"You remember that?" Brianna said "I only have a the vaguest recollection of that."

Gillian sighed. "Look, Brianna. The world isn't in your books or maps. It's out there beyond your door." she paused briefly as she leaned back into the chair and began slowly rocking herself "And believe me, you'll have a tale or two when you come back."

"Can you promise that I will come back?" Brianna inquired.

Gillian stopped rocking and looked to Brianna in a reassuring look. She leaned forward and sighed as she did so.

"No I can't." she gently replied "And if you do you won't be same."

"I see. I'm sorry, Gillian, but I can't sign this contract." Brianna responded as she stood up "Thank you for your time but...you've got the wrong hobbit."

Gillian nodded as if to say _"I understand"_ and then Brianna turned and walked away, heading to her bedroom to get some much needed sleep.

As Brianna walked into her room, Barbara, Daniella and Traude stood at the end of the hall where it leads into the entrance hall. They saw as she walked out and headed into the the bedroom, Barbara sighed in disappointment.

"It appears we've lost our burglar." she said "It's probably for the best though."

"What kind of talk is that?" Daniella demanded in shock.

"Think about, sister. What are we?" Barbara explained "The wives of tinkerers, toymakers and merchants. We're not exactly the warrior women of legend."

"There are a few warriors in our group." Traude piped in.

"Old warriors." Daniella said.

Barbara sighed a heavy, tired sigh. Traude and Daniella could tell something was nagging at her mind but they couldn't figure out exactly what.

"Barbara..." Traude finally said "What is it?"

Barbara then began to look greatly troubled. "You don't have to know this. None of us do. You and your sister have done honorably by our people." she continued "You've helped find a new life in the Blue Mountains. A life of peace and prosperity. Something that is worth more than all the gold in Erebor."

Now it was Traude's turn to sigh though she did a more nasal sigh. Daniella kept quiet and observed the situation.

"I understand your concern, Barbara. But this is different." Traude said as he pulled out the key from her pocket "This key has now come to me. We now can reclaim our home."

"But why bring the others?" Daniella finally said "Maybe Barbara's right. We might just be a bunch of dwarf women way in over our heads."

"I would take each and every one them over any army." Traude responded "When we arranged the quest, they're families answered."

She paused briefly as she turned to look behind her to her left and saw some of the girls relaxing and doing other things. Kamilla and Frieda were talking about something they couldn't hear, Ottilie was sitting down on a stool writing and Beate was playing with a little mechanical toy eagle she'd made as a present for her mother back home.

"Loyalty, a willing heart..." Traude said in a surprisingly gentle tone "...I can ask no more than that."

Traude kept her eyes fixed on this little group and Daniella and Barbara kept looking at Traude only briefly glancing the others before Traude turned back to them.

"If for nothing else, we must do this for them." she went on "For their children and grandchildren. I want their children to walk into the halls of Erebor, not as merchants scraping around in the dirt but as dwarf lords. Free from the shadow of that dragon." she paused briefly as she put the key back in her pocket "There is no choice, girls. Not for me. My mind's made up."

Barbara and Daniella briefly looked to one another. They'd been with Traude through many dangers, from the fall of Erebor when Traude was just a young girl to the Battle of Moria where Thror had fallen in battle under the blade of Azog the Defiler and many more countless perils. They could see there was a fire in her, a passionate desire to fulfill her parents wishes and retake their long-lost home. And they could tell that she feared that flame would go out like a match in a gust of wind. They then turned their attention to Traude who was still quietly waiting for an answer, both of them now smiling.

"Then we're with you, lass." Barbara said.

"We'll see that it is done." Daniella said.

Traude's smile was warm and gentle, though somewhat hardened by her past. She then wrapped her arms around Daniella and Barbara and hugged both of them simultaneously. Her eyes were closed the entire time as Barbara and Daniella returned the hug.

"Thank you." Traude said in a soft, almost whispering tone.

Brianna finally slid off her robe and now just dressed in her nightgown as she slipped into bed. She got under the white covers of her bed and drew the curtain to her left. The curtains were a relatively new addition to her bedroom and were a given from the Hobbiton Women's Club after she'd joined. At first, she didn't think she'd need them, but she found that they helped her sleep better. And a good night's sleep was what she needed after the evening's events. However, as she blew out the candle on the dresser on the right side of her bed, she heard something unusual.

At the crack of her bedroom door, she could see the faint glow of her fireplace in the lounge room. And from there, there was the sound of some loud humming. It was somewhat low but she could still hear it. As she drew the curtain on the right side of her bed, she never took her eyes of the door. The singing somehow drew her attention and she couldn't tear herself away even as she lay down. And then, she could hear the voices of all the girls beginning to sing. And this is what they sung:

 _Far over the Misty Mountains cold_

 _To dungeons deep and caverns old_

 _We must away ere break of day_

 _To find our long forgotten gold._

 _The pines were roaring on the height_

 _The winds were moaning in the night_

 _The fire was red, it flaming spread_

 _The trees like torches blazed with light_

 _On silver necklaces they strung_

 _The flowering stars, on crowns they hung_

 _The dragon-fire, in twisted wire_

 _They meshed the light of moon and sun_

Brianna didn't get to hear the last verse as the song lulled her to sleep and so she began to dream of what might lay beyond the Shire, unknowingly letting the Baggins side of her fall away and the Took side of her slowly begin to take over.


	8. Home is Behind You

Brianna's eyes lazily opened as the rays of sunlight peeked through her curtains. She yawned as she stretched her arms and sat up, feeling slightly hung-over from last night. She then listened closely to what was around. There was...nothing. No dwarves laughing, no dwarves making noises in the kitchen. Nothing but the sound of the birds tweeting outside her window. She did some eye searching to her left and right as she cautiously stepped out of bed and drew back her curtains. As she folded her sheets, she found the silence a little unnatural. After all that had transpired that evening she half-expected the dwarves to be waiting just outside her door.

She carefully put on her robe, made sure to tie the strands good and tight and walked to the door. But as she opened the door, she was stunned to see nothing. Just an empty hall. Surprised at how empty it was and how quiet her house had gotten, she now confidently stepped out of her room, shut the door and proceeded to make her way to her study near the entrance of Bag-End, being sure to check the rec room, kitchen, pantry and dining room on her way. Everything was cleaned up and organized just like it had been before they'd started arriving last night. The chairs were put back in their place and the table had been wiped clean. Although when she got to the pantry she was reminded that they'd gone through the whole thing and she sighed in annoyance. When she finally did get to her study she looked out the window.

The sun was shining brightly as it rose above the rolling hills in the distance and gleamed off the nearby lake. A somewhat thickly fog also shrouded some of the lake and the nearby hobbit-holes giving the scenario an almost gothic beauty. She smiled as she shut her eyes. took a deep breath and exhaled as she opened her eyes. Her house was as it should be: quiet, warm and inviting. But as she turned around she noticed something sitting on a little stool.

It was a folded piece of paper about the size of the contract had been when it was folded but most curious of all was a little note attached to it. Brianna walked over to it and gently pulled off the note and read it. The note said this:

 _To our burglar, Miss Brianna Edith Baggins..._

 _In case you've changed your mind, we've left the terms of your employment. We're terribly sorry if we caused a ruckus last night but we were in a hurry. Enclosed in the contract is everyone's signature to which we've left some space for you. Just sign on the dotted line if you accept. If you need us we'll be at the borders of the Shire. Gillian insisted you take along some extra clothing and other things so the journey will be easier. Hope it helps._

 _Sincerely yours, Ottilie._

Brianna decided to do as instructed and then unfolded the paper. Sure enough it was the contract and everything was as Ottilie had said in her note. Everything was signed and laid out for her, with thirteen signatures just above the dotted line. For a little bit Brianna considered just leaving the contract unsigned and letting those dwarves go on their merry way. After all, they'd ravaged her once full pantry and they had just barged in without telling her first. And this talk of adventure they'd had sounded far too dangerous for one such as herself.

But suddenly albeit slowly something else began to overtake her. She couldn't quite put her finger on it but as she glanced out her window to the horizon, there grew in her a desire to see what lay beyond those rolling hills of the Shire. And as dangerous as it sounded, the adventure the girls had spoken of had ignited a sense of wanting in her. It sounded...fun. Fun and exciting. The people she could meet, the places she could go. Maybe there weren't just Elves, Dwarves and Men out there. Maybe there were giants made of stone, or talking beavers, or flying creatures made of spaghetti or anything really! The possibilities seemed endless.

Her fear quickly faded away as enthusiasm overcame her and her mind became filled with majestic images of what lay beyond the Shire. Gillian had reminded her of who she had once been, a young girl hungering for adventure, regardless of what it did to her dresses. She then looked back at the contract on the stool just behind her. All she had to do was sign. Just do that and she could be more than just a Baggins of Bag-End. She quite suddenly, without even thinking she would do so, grabbed a feather pen and then hastily wrote her name on the dotted line. She then scrambled into her bedroom and then slammed the door as she began undressing, all the while suppressing the thoughts of _'What am I even doing?'_.

Lobelia Sackville-Baggins and her husband Otho were busy holding an outdoor party nearby the banks of the lake with the Green Dragon just behind them. Lobelia always very proud to flaunt her wealth in front of everybody, even if they thought it was obnoxious. Being head of the Hobbiton Women's Club, it was her job to okay or veto any activities the club had. This party was the idea of one Ethel Proudfoot, a close friend of Lobelia who always wore green no matter what the season.

Otho was beside himself with boredom having wanted to just go have a drink at the Green Dragon but his wife insisted on coming and he discovered she coincidentally was having the party today. He was quietly sitting in the chair in the shade of an umbrella while his wife was busy talking and drinking some tea while wearing a dress with a white top and everything from the waist downward being a light grey.

"Did you see that wizard lady with the tall hat this morning?" Ethel asked.

"No I didn't." Lobelia said "But do go on."

"Well, she came to Miss Baggins house with a bunch of dwarf women and they didn't leave till first light!" Ethel said "I saw it all across the lake when I was watering my hydrangeas!"

"You get up that early to water your flowers?" Otho asked from about fifteen feet behind them.

Ethel, Lobelia and a rather snobbish looking hobbit looked back towards him while he thought up a proper way to respond to their reaction.

"If you want good hydrangeas, you have to get up early to tend to them." Ethel said.

"Everyone knows that, Otho old boy!" the snobbish hobbit said.

Suddenly their was a commotion just behind them and they turned around to see Brianna running as she headed to the bridge which was just to Lobelia's left. She had the contract in her right hand while she held a walking stick in her left. She had on a backpack and had a knapsack slung round her left shoulder. She was wearing a white dress with black shapes scattered across it with the dress extended to just below her knee.

She did her best to maneuver around everyone but at least one person did trip and she turned round to apologize only to come across Ethel, the other hobbit and Lobelia. And while the other two managed to move out of the way, Lobelia didn't and she got slammed by Brianna (albeit accidentally) and the tea she had spilled all over her dress with only a little bit getting onto Brianna. Lobelia's mouth hung open in shock as Brianna just continued running, growing closer to the bridge.

"DAMN IT, MISS BAGGINS!" she all but screamed "THIS DRESS COST MORE THAN YOUR HOUSE!"

Brianna didn't respond but just kept running as she sped across the bridge while everyone else stared in surprise at the hobbit. They didn't know Brianna for doing things like that. And then Lobelia heard her husband laughing as Brianna made it across the bridge.

"Jolly good show, Miss Baggins!" Otho laughed.

Lobelia then snarled as she turned and gave her husband the most intimidating death glare she could muster and he shut up like a clam and quickly grabbed a random book about cheese and shoved his face into it.

Hamfast Gamgee was busy doing the laundry and hanging it up on a wire while Belle sat to his left on the bench they'd built as she quietly read a book. She was holding the book in one hand while the other was on her belly, which was growing ever larger thanks to the baby. Their mornings had become more frequently like this: Hamfast having to do the chores while Belle got rest or sat reading something. So you can imagine the bewilderment Hamfast felt as he looked to where his wife was and saw Brianna running like a rabbit on a sugar-rush past their fence. Belle turned to look as well when she heard Brianna's rather loud and exhausted panting.

"Miss Baggins!" Hamfast barked "Where you off to?"

"Can't stop!" she replied as she got onto the pathway that lead to the Gamgee's gate "I'm already late!"

"Late for what?" Belle inquired.

"I'm going on an adventure!" Brianna replied.

"Oh! Well, bring us back something for the baby!" Belle called out as Brianna started to get further away.

"I will!" Brianna responded.

She didn't explain anything further but instead kept running, as fast as her hairy feet could carry her. ' _What are you doing?!' 'You must be crazy!'_ she felt her thoughts practically yell at her but she ignored them, not wanting to quit. Her curiosity and enthusiasm had overtaken her and it was now or never. Nothing could stop her now. She may have woken up a Baggins but after going out her door, Brianna was a Took.


	9. The World is Ahead

On the borders of the shire the girls quietly rode on their ponies along the pathway which was lined with lush trees which were filled with birdsong. The girls had about sixteen ponies altogether with the girls riding on twelve of them whilst the other four were used for carrying supplies. Gillian rode on the large horse near the group's center as they discussed among themselves about Brianna's absence.

"I thought for sure she would come." Beate said.

"I knew she wouldn't come." Daniella replied "The wild is no place for someone like her."

"We'll have to make due without her." Nadja added.

"Nadja's right." Gerlinde went on "Gillian's here with us anyway. Smaug's got no chance."

"Now, girls, remember..." Gillian chimed in "Dragons aren't easy to kill. If you wish to succeed in this-"

"Wait!" a voice called out "Wait for the me!"

Everybody suddenly stopped in their tracks and turned in astonishment to see Brianna running after them contract in hand. Gillian then smiled confidently, assured in the fact that Brianna had finally made up her mind. Brianna quickly caught up with them and got up to Barbara, Traude, Bertha, Gerlinde and Ophelia who were in the front row, stopping in front of the former two to catch her breath.

"I-I signed it." she panted heavily.

Barbara then took the contract and looked over it carefully. As she did so, Brianna turned to look at the others.

"Good gracious, Brianna, did you run all the way here?" Gerlinde asked.

Brianna just nodded and as Brianna fixed herself up and brushed the dirt off her hem, she took a look at Traude. A shaft of light shone through the trees and it looked as if a crown of sunshine was on her dark hair. She looked very noble in the sunlight, indeed much like royalty.

"Everything seems to be in order." Barbara said as she folded the contract "Welcome Miss Baggins...to the company of Traude Oakenshield."

All the rest of the girls who had remained quiet then promptly clapped in approval. Traude just smiled and nodded her head.

"Give the woman a pony." she said.

"Oh no it's not necessary!" Brianna insisted "I'll be just fine walking."

"She can take mine!" Beate piped up "I can ride with Bridget."

"That's such nonsense!" Gerlinde barked "We've got four ponies without riders, so let's give her one."

Beate tried to speak up but stammered a little. "B-But I want to he-"

"Too late." Nadja interjected "Our minds are made up."

Gerlinde quietly trotted over and gripped the reigns of one of the four free ponies and then guided it to where Brianna was standing, while Beate looked disappointed though no one noticed. She then let go of the reigns and motioned for Brianna to climb on. Brianna just shrugged and walked over to the pony. It was brown with a blonde mane and tail and looked like it was ready to bolt any second. Brianna had only ridden a pony one other time when she was sixteen and she remembered the experience being relaxing. But then again that was years ago. So, she nervously climbed onto the pony half expecting it to run off or for her to slip and fall over. She then promptly clicked her tongue and the ponies then began resuming their walk.

Gillian backed up a little so that her and Brianna rode side by side. Now the row was Traude, Barbara, Ophelia, Gerlinde and Bertha in front, Gillian, Brianna, Daniella, Beate, Bridget in the middle and Dorothea, Nadja, Ottilie, Frieda and Kamilla in the back. Brianna then looked to Gillian as a question came up in her mind.

"Did you know I would come?" she asked.

"Beg your pardon?" Gillian inquired.

"Like, are you psychic?" Brianna explained "You didn't seem that surprised when I arrived."

Gillian chuckled while shaking her head. "My dear friend, I never doubted you for a second. And to answer your question, I'm not psychic."

"Then how did you know?" Brianna demanded.

Gillian didn't reply right away as she looked around then smirked as she turned to Brianna again.

"Everyone put wagers on whether or not you'd join us. I bet you would." she elaborated softly "And now, come the next resting place, I will have ten coins in my pocket. That's how I knew."

"I see." Brianna said "Good for...y-you..."

Suddenly Brianna sneezed which caused her shake her head to clear her senses while the pony neighed, rustling up it's neck hairs and causing some to get on her face, irritating her nose even more. As she rubbed her face and nose to get it off, she accidently snorted, which made her feel embarrassed as it felt very un-ladylike of her.

"Ugh. Damn horse hair." she said as her senses cleared "I'm having a reaction."

She then reached into her left dress pocket to get her handkerchief but only to feel...nothing. There wasn't any handkerchief. She then hastily felt her right pocket only to feel nothing there either. She then reached into her knapsack only to feel anything but the handkerchief.

Oh no, no, no! she thought I can't have forgotten it!

"What on earth is the matter?" Gillian asked.

"It's my handkerchief!" Brianna exclaimed "I must have dropped it while I was running!"

"Hold on!" Bertha said suddenly.

She then grasped the hem of her gown on her right side, tore off a piece much to Gerlinde's silent dismay (their dresses did cost a considerable amount after all) and then looked to Brianna who look equally flummoxed.

"Here!" she said as she threw it to Brianna "Use this!"

Brianna caught it in her right hand and felt very awkward. It was about the size of her handkerchief but she'd never heard of one being made out of a piece of a girls dress. She then gently tucked it into her right pocket while Gillian chuckled for reasons Brianna didn't seem to understand.

"You'll have to do without your pocket handkerchief and a great deal other things on our journey." Gillian said "You were born to the borders of the Shire. But home is now behind you, Brianna. The world is ahead."

"How far is the Lonely Mountain exactly?" Brianna asked innocently.

"Let's see...we have to go through the Misty Mountains, heaven knows how many forests." Bridget replied "Rolling hills and grasslands and a lake. So yeah, hell of a long way to go."

"Glad I asked." Brianna said sarcastically.


	10. Campire Stories

Later that night, everyone was quietly set up for the evening. They were camped on a cliffside in a grove of trees where there was a rock that provided some shelter whilst doubling as something to lean against. They also had a view of the countryside beyond which was mostly just forests and rivers though in the distance you could see some rock-like structures near some hills in the moonlight. The girls had gotten dressed into their nightgowns of varying colours like black, white, pink and pigment cyan.

Brianna was lying on her side attempting to sleep with her back facing the fire but just thirteen feet away Dorothea and Gerlinde were busy talking about how they managed their money. Granted it wasn't a conversation Brianna was interested in but the two were talking rather loud and she couldn't sleep because of it. She then casually stood up and thought about what to do. She then noticed Bridget lifting a medium-sized pot loaded with apples and as she walked she dropped three of them. Brianna started walking over when Beate shot up from where she was sitting, hurried over to her cousin and started picking up the apples.

"Let me help you with that." she said.

"Oh no, it's alright." Bridget said "I can handle this."

"B-But I-" Beate tried to say.

"Give those to the ponies." Bridget said softly "That way they don't go to waste."

"I can take those." Brianna said politely as she took two of the apples "Why don't you go sit with Bertha?"

Beate sighed and then walked back to the fireplace where some of the girls were sitting in a clockwise way of seating and sat next down on Bertha's left while she had Daniella sitting next to Bertha to her right. Frieda and Kamilla sat across from them, leaning against the rock. Brianna in the meantime walked to the ponies who were tied up near tree near the cliff's edge except for three who were grazing on the other side just behind the bags while tied up to a different tree. Gillian sat comfortably next to the tree and leaned against it as she smoked her pipe and observed Brianna hold out in her right hand an apple for one of the ponies (Myrtle to be precise).

"Here you are, Myrtle." she said as Myrtle bit into the apple and Brianna retracted her hand "That should hold you over."

She then walked over to another pony which had a grey coat and a black mane and fed it the apple as well. She then wiped her hands on the hem of her gown and started to walk over to the girls by the fireplace. But as she did so, she heard a screeching sound in the distance. It sounded to her like a cat getting strangled by a screech owl. Beate gasped as the girls looked towards the horizon and then grasped Bertha's hand so tight Bertha actually exclaimed "Ow!". Beate let go just as Brianna sat down next to them.

"W-What was that?" she demanded.

"Orcs." Kamilla said.

The screech happened again and Beate bit her lip as she closed her hands into fists while keeping them on the ground. Bertha took notice and wrapped her left arm around her cousin in an assuring manner. And Brianna, while knowing what orc was from legends, wondered how the girls could tell what they sounded like, especially from the distance the sound seemed to emanate from.

"H-How do you know what one sounds like?" she inquired.

"Because we've fought them before." said a voice.

Everyone round the fireplace turned to see Traude coming up on the right side of the rock. She was heading towards a nearby rock which was next to the bags and had caught wind of the conversation. As she took her seat, Barbara leaned against the rock and looked at Brianna who still had hundreds of questions going through her mind.

"Where exactly?" she inquired softly.

Everyone suddenly felt awkward but Daniella and Barbara looked the most concerned. Unlike Brianna, they'd seen orcs in action and had lived through many encounters with them but one in particular remained carved into their brains and they knew that was the one Brianna would be the most curious about.

"Don't tell her that story." Daniella said.

"She has a right to know." Traude said from where she sat "Tell her, Barbara."

"Are you sure you want to know, lass?" Barbara said cautiously.

"Well...yes." Brianna replied "Might as well if I'm going to be with you all on this journey of yours."

Barbara sighed and moved forward about two feet, sat down, took hold of a nearby branch and began moving around the embers in the fireplace, causing sparks to shoot up as she prepared to tell her story.

"It was after the dragon took the Lonely Mountain. Daniella and I were young women back then." Barbara began "King Thror decided he was going to try and reclaim the ancient dwarf kingdom of Moria. But when we got there...our enemy had got there first."

"T-The orcs?" Brianna asked.

"Thousands of them." Barbara responded "And they were led by the most vile of their race. Azog the Defiler."

Brianna felt a shiver go down her spine at hearing the 'Defiler' part. Anyone with that kind of name probably was the worst of their race. She nervously bit her lip as Barbara continued her story.

"The battle was pure chaos. Everywhere you looked someone would get cut down and someone else would take their place." Barbara said "So I couldn't see when..." she paused for a second for before she continued "...when it happened."

"When what happened?" Brianna asked.

Everyone looked around nervously to each other and then to Barbara, who was looking at Traude who was looking at the ground away from the campfire. Barbara then looked to Brianna while everyone kept their focus on Barbara.

"When Azog beheaded the king." she said finally.

Brianna gulped nervously while Dorothea and Gerlinde joined in on listening to the story. Barbara then paused while she tried to think of what to say next while her and everyone else turning to Dorothea.

"Dorothea, why don't you be a dear and get us some more firewood?" Kamilla piped up.

"I'm on it." Dorothea replied softly as she got up and walked away.

"What happened next?" Brianna inquired as everyone turned back to Barbara.

"Well, that's the part of the battle I don't recall well." Barbara said "But from what I heard afterwards, Thrain, Traude's father, charged towards Azog and his guards. He disappeared in the midst of the battle."

Brianna quickly glanced to Daniella and noticed she looked unexpectedly saddened. She figured it was being reminded of her experiences in that battle but when Barbara said 'he disappeared' she looked as if her heart shattered. But Brianna chose to ignore it and focus on the story as Barbara continued.

"Now, I don't know how, but Deborah Ironfoot-" she said.

"Wait, you mean the Deborah that Traude mentioned at my house?" Brianna asked again.

"The same." Barbara responded "The dwarves of the Iron Hills were there that day. And I managed to see her face to face with Azog. He'd knocked her sword away and was just about to run her through with his great sword...when someone intervened."

"Who?" Brianna asked.

"Aunt Traude." Frieda replied smiling.

Brianna looked to Traude in bafflement while everyone else smiled softly but confidently. Traude then looked up and noticed Brianna's stunned expression.

"You?" she demanded.

"Well...yeah." Traude replied with her head resting on her right hand.

"That's right. I couldn't believe what I saw." Barbara went on "Traude lept onto Azog and knocked him to the ground. I tried to run over to see if I could do anything. Through the chaos, I could see Azog stand up and raise his sword. It was then that-"

She paused briefly as Dorothea arrived with the new branches and sticks for the fire and casually threw them in when she was close enough, causing sparks to fly out and some of the flames to swirl in unique and odd directions. Just as Dorothea sat down, Traude leaned forward slightly and cleared her throat.

"Go on, Barbara." she said.

"Yes, go on." Beate said in agreement.

"Alright. Now, as Azog raised his sword to swing it down onto Traude, she managed to find the thick branch of an oak tree that was nearby. It was then that I got into the tussle with an orc, which I managed to kill but he didn't go down easy." Barbara continued on "But I was able to catch glimpses of Traude using the branch as a shield against the Defiler. After I finally managed to kill my opponent I almost fell forward but I managed to catch myself. And then as I looked up...POW!"

At the 'pow!' Barbara threw the stick she'd been using to move the sticks and branches into the fire causing a small burst of fire upwards causing everyone to gasp. Of course, Traude knew what Barbara was referring to.

"Deborah came in and blocked Azog's sword and then with two slices cut open his stomach and then sliced his head clean off!" Barbara exclaimed "And it was so that Azog the Defiler learned that day that the line of Durin would not be so easily broken."

"Wow." Brianna said softly in awe "W-What happened next?"

"Not much else." Traude replied "Without their leader, the orcs fell into disarray. The day was won."

"And then you took Azog's head and put it on a pike right?" Kamilla suddenly asked "That's what mother told me."

Traude chuckled softly. "Yeah we did that, grisly as it was."

Brianna remained quiet while she processed the story she'd heard. It was one of the more gruesome stories she'd heard but it was also...fascinating to her. She wasn't just with a bunch of dwarves. There really were some warriors amongst them, even though they didn't look it. And for quite a bit everyone sat quietly in awkward silence. It was then that the sound of a little bell broke the silence.

"Alright! The candied apples are done!" Bridget called out "Come and get it!"

Everyone immediately got up and headed for where Bridget was, chattering excitedly. Brianna, however, sat where she was and watched them huddle around the pot trying to get some dinner. After what she'd heard, she felt somewhat glad to be with these girls, even though she hadn't known them for very long. From the sound of things, they'd been through all kinds of hardships and pain, yet they refused to let it keep them down. Brianna wondered if one day she herself would be that brave or that determined. But her growling stomach interrupted her thoughts and she figured she best get dinner and got up to go get some.

 _Better hurry for Bridget probably eats what's left._ she thought to herself.


	11. Ramona and the Spiders

The next morning and far away, in an area of the Mirkwood borders known as Rhosgobel, there was an odd shaped willow tree at it's center. The reason the tree was so odd shaped was because a house had been built into it. It was built out of the bark and wood of the forest with a swamp grass and fern roof that was colored brownish gold. Nearby the house, in fact just behind it was a little make-shift shed made out of the same material that was an extension of the house that functioned as a barn. This was the home of one Ramona the Brown.

Ramona herself was an unusual woman. She wore a brown coat that went all the way down to her heels, had on a white dress with little blue dots underneath that was about the same length and wore thick boots. Her curly hair was reddish-brown and cut short whilst her eyes were a soft blue. She also had a brown wool hat with built-in earmuffs to protect her ears. She had with her a make-shift knife and her wooden staff that was at least three feet taller then she was. Perhaps most curious about the staff was the unusual shape at the top which contained a bright aqua blue crystal.

Her day had started out like any other. She had gotten up to get some fresh air but soon she noticed something wasn't right. There was a sense of death in the air. The sense grew as she looked around her house when she noticed some birds calling to her. She looked up and soon a robin flew down and began twittering frightfully.

"What is it?" Ramona asked "What's happened?"

The robin then flew to just behind an oak tree then flew back, landing on a branch and motioning for her to come. Ramona cautiously walked towards whatever the robin was twittering about and almost fell over as she gasped in horror when she saw the dead bodies of about four rabbits, a mouse and an otter. At first, she stood in shock, unable to properly process what she was seeing. But then she closely looked at the evidence of whatever act was committed and noticed some things, cautiously moving in closer. The bodies seemed mysteriously drained of blood with two puncture wounds the size of Ramona's thumb. There also was a greenish goo sliding out from the wounds like how blood drips from a wound. Ramona had never seen anything like this in her years as a wizard.

 _Who could have done this?_ she thought _Or what?_

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her collie Gus barking loudly. She grasped her staff tightly and ran over to where the sound was coming from. She turned the corner to behind her house and saw her dog barking at something that had quickly vanished into the forest undergrowth. She was astonished at the creature's speed for it to have vanished so quickly. And she didn't want to stick around to see what that thing was, quickly turning to her dog.

"Gus, go back." she ordered "Go back!"

The collie then hurried over to the house (they were about thirteen feet away from it) and Ramona turned to follow her dog when she suddenly heard the sound of something gasping for air. It was a somewhat quiet sound but she could hear it clearly. She turned to her left and then gasped in shock when she saw a hedgehog attempting to curl up in a ball but looked to be in an extreme amount of pain and he had the same bite marks as the other victims. Ramona instantly ran over to the little hedgehog and leaned down to scoop up the hedgehog in her hands.

"Sebastian!" she exclaimed with worry "Oh my goodness!"

There was then the sound of bushes and branches cracking which caused Ramona to turn her head. Whatever it was that hurt Sebastian, it was coming back. She then quickly got up and with Sebastian tucked safely in her left hand near her chest, she raced back to the house, followed quickly by some forest mice and some birds, with the latter flying up through cracks in the roof. She slammed the door shut behind her, quickly putting Sebastian safely on a table in her living room and getting a large piece of wood to brace her door. After she did that, she hurried over to a cabinet and opened it, revealing all kinds of herbal medicines and remedies she kept on hand should the need arise. She grabbed a small bowl and began mixing up a potion as fast as she could. She then heard some chittering whilst she was still mixing the ingredients and looked to see three more hedgehogs crowding around Sebastian with worry on their faces.

"No, stand back!" Ramona demanded "Give him some air!"

The hedgehogs backed away and Ramona return to finishing off the medicine. The medicine was a special kind that looked like glowing goop but actually was a sticky cream designed for bites. She quickly dipped her finger into the bowl and hurried to Sebastian, who was still struggling to breathe. She then spread the medical cream over the two bite wounds then grabbed some bandages from her medicine cabinet, doing her best to ignore the sounds of Sebastian wheezing while her cream did it's work of closing the wound and easing the pain. She then wrapped the bandages around Sebastian's side worryingly while being extra careful not to agitate him.

"What could have done this to you?" she asked herself aloud "It's almost as if-"

She suddenly stopped mid-sentence and turned to face her window as she caught a glimpse of something move quickly by it. She couldn't quite make it out but it had a roundish body judging by it's shadow and long legs. But that wasn't what had Ramona scared. No it was something else that quickly dawned on her. There was a reason she didn't recognize what was going on. Nothing like this seemed natural in any way, leading her to one conclusion.

"Witchcraft." she said as fear overcame her voice "That's what this is. I understand now."

She then noticed something else eerie that troubled her...she couldn't hear Sebastian breathing anymore. She looked to the hedgehog, who was now silent with his eyes closed and half curled up in a ball. Fearing for the worst, she leaned her head down and pressed her ear against Sebastian's chest while checking his pulse.

But she could hear nothing from Sebastian. No breathing and not the sound of his heart. And she could not feel any pulse. It then dawned on her as she lifted her head up while still looking down at the hedgehog. It was clear: Sebastian was dead. Ramona was both shocked and broken-hearted by this revelation. She did her best to fight back to the urge to cry as no animal in her care had died when she was around the forest. But she then began hearing a scratching noise and turned to look at her door. Now she could see whatever was outside trying to break in through the windows. As they sought other ways in, the scratching became louder and began coming not just from there but from around the house. As they mysterious creatures started climbing up her windows, Ramona finally got a good look at the body shape and structure of the creature...a spider. The largest spider she'd ever seen.

 _What do I do?_ she thought to herself as she calmed herself down _Okay, calm down Ramona. You can handle this. But first, you need to help Sebastian. I just hope it's not too late._

She took her staff as she went through the plan in her head and then carefully twisted the crystal out of the top of the staff. She then hurried over to a rocking chair, being sure to grab Sebastian on the way over. She then sat in the chair and gently brought the crystal close to Sebastian's lips. She quickly glanced to her floor as the scratching sounds became louder and louder as the spiders climbed onto the top of the house with the animals in her house like the mice, badgers, ferrets and her dog Gus ran towards her with the smallest animals hiding under the chair and the tables. Ramona turned her attention to Sebastian then she began reciting a poem in Quenya, the language of wizards.

"Let this little one be healed." she said "Let him be spared. Let this evil magic be driven away."

As she recited the poem one more time, black, ink-like smoke suddenly flowed from Sebastian's mouth and began filling the crystal with some green liquid flowing after it. Mere seconds after she finished reciting the poem, the black smoke and the green liquid suddenly evaporated inside the crystal followed almost instantly by Sebastian gasping for breath. Ramona sighed with relief as Sebastian started breathing normally. She quickly looked up as the spiders climbed down from her roof and away from her windows, before gently placing Sebastian down on the ground where he was greeted by his three family members. As she headed for her front door, she placed her crystal carefully back into the top of the staff. She then opened the door but was almost knocked over by her Gus running outward towards the edge of the trees and barking angrily while Ramona stayed at least ten feet away from her house, finally getting a good look at the spiders as they began fleeing into the forest and noticing that they were as big as a large horse.

"Where did these foul creatures come from?" she asked herself in shock.

Just then, a barn owl flew up onto a nearby branch and began hooting and screeching. Fortunately for Ramona she could understand the language of animals and quickly figured out what the owl was trying to tell her.

"The old fortress." she said "Show me the way. I'll follow behind you."

The owl nodded and then flew off in the direction of the fortress which was the same direction the spiders had run off too. Whatever was going on and whatever had hurt Sebastian, she was going to find out what. Especially considering that spiders had never wandered that far into the forest to her knowledge, let alone spiders of that size. She walked over to her barn with a determined look on her face, stopping briefly at the barn door to look to her dog who was following her.

"Gus, guard the house while mommy is away." she ordered.

Gus barked in approval and then hurried inside through a specially made side door. Ramona then entered the barn and shut the door behind her. After about five minutes, the front barn door burst open as a sleigh being drawn by eight large brown rabbits ran out from it and changed direction as Ramona steered it from the back to follow the direction the spider and owl had gone. And so Ramona departed from Rhosgobel and pursued the spiders down the forest path, in the direction of the ruined fortress with as much courage as she could muster.


	12. Leaving Your Dwarves to Look Ahead

It was around mid-afternoon and after almost half a day of riding that the girls came upon a section of a forest they'd been riding on the edge of that had a large tepui-like rock formation looming over the trees and, most peculiar of all, a farmhouse with the walls completely gone and a big gaping hole in the roof. Ferns, bushes and flowers grew through cracks in the floorboards and all around the ruined house, with four trees growing round the fireplace and providing shade. There was also a well near the house with the bucket still tied to the rope. Gillian was observing all this (as she'd gotten there first) while the girls caught up to her and came to a stop.

"Alright girls, dismount! We'll camp here for the night!" Traude ordered "Frieda! Kamilla! Look after the ponies!"

Gillian continued her observation of the house, coming to the conclusion that a farmer and his family used to live here. And judging from the condition of the house, it looked like they were either forced out of their home or something had attacked them and broken down the house, because most of the stuff seemed to have evidence of being broken in a hurry. As she pondered this, Traude came up to see what Gillian was doing.

"So, we're all set up." she said "What about you?"

"I think it would be wiser to move on." Gillian replied.

"But we've been riding almost all day, ever since first light." Traude protested "Where do you suggest we go?"

"Well, we could make for the Hidden Valley." Gillian said "There cou-"

"No." Trade barked cutting Gillian off as she walked towards the fireplace "I will not go near that place."

"Traude, we still have a long ways to go before we even get to the Wilderland." Gillian explained "We could get rest, food and advice."

"I don't need the advice of an elf." Traude replied without bothering to turn around with irritation in her voice.

Gillian rolled her eyes and clenched her staff. "We have a map with we cannot read and Lady Edyta could help us."

Something then snapped inside of Traude that had long been buried and she clenched her fists as she turned to Gillian with a very cross look on her face.

"Help?!" she said angrily "A dragon attacks Erebor and drives us away. The Elves never came to our aid. Orcs plunder and pillage Moira. No help came from the elves." she paused briefly as her anger subsided and she relaxed before continuing "You want me to seek the aid of the people who broke their promise to come to our aid whenever we had need of it? The people who...betrayed my family."

"Traude, please try to understand." Gillian said showing remarkable patience "Your father did not give me that key so could hold onto the past."

Traude sighed a somewhat exhausted sigh as she put her hands in her pockets. Her anger had dissipated once she'd calmed herself down. Gillian could see Traude was a rather stubborn woman, a trait many a dwarf unfortunately shared, and that trying to pry at the issue further would only make things worse. Gillian looked back to the girls as they set up camp, blissfully unaware of their conversation. She then turned back to Traude and gave a brief nose sigh, before adjusting her hat ever so slightly.

"I can see you need some time to yourself." she said "So I'll just get out of your hair for a bit."

"I think that would be very wise." Traude replied.

Gillian turned around and started walking back to her horse. Brianna (who was with Bertha, Beate and Barbara unpacking some stuff) took notice of Gillian mounting her horse and starting to make her leave along with some of the others.

"G-Gillian?" Brianna asked "Everything alright? Where are you going?"

"There is something I must attend to." Gillian replied as the horse began to quicken it's pace as it weaved around the girls ponies "I'll be back as soon as I can."

As she rode off, Brianna looked on with concern as did Beate whilst Barbara seemed to know what Gillian meant. Brianna on the other hand didn't. She hadn't expected Gillian to go running off suddenly without any explanation, especially since from how the girls made the mission out to be, they were going to need her help.

"Barbara, Daniela!" Traude called from the house "Help Gerlinde find a suitable clearing near the trees to pitch the tents!"

"Alright!" Barbara called back.

As she walked off, Brianna then looked to Bertha and Beate, with the former checking the ponies hooves for any rocks and such stuck in the horseshoe, whilst Beate looked around with her hands in her pockets and a smile on her face.

"Is she going to come back?" Brianna asked.

"She's a wizard." Bertha responded as she stood up "Let her do as she pleases."

Beate meanwhile was still taking in the scenery and was enjoying herself as she began walking away from the pony. Bertha glanced to her and was happy to see her cousin relaxing and not trying to separate herself from everyone, something which had become a cause of concern to her and Bridget. Brianna took notice of it too.

"She looks happy." she said.

"Yes she does." Bertha replied "It's been a long time since I've seen her smile. Even so long after…"

Bertha then unexpectedly stopped and then loosened the bags tied onto her pony, much to Brianna's surprise.

"After what?" Brianna asked.

"Never mind." Bertha replied dismissively as she grasped her bags and began walking away "Better go help set up camp. Beate, Bridget, come on!"

Across the field, as Brianna was pondering what Bertha had said, Ottilie was busy writing. Throughout the journey, she'd begun documenting their trek, down to even the minimal detail. Currently, she was sitting under the shade of a terebinth tree and writing about the day's ride:

 _We started riding at first light, which we've been doing since we started our journey. I feel it's been easier on most of us than others. Bridget always requires at least three more minutes of sleep before being allowed to be woken. I sometimes wonder if Bridget isn't eating, she's always looking for a new place to sleep. Wouldn't put it passed her myself, as while she professes she doesn't have an eating problem, she can never explain how she's able to consume an entire breakfast worth of food and still have room for lunch a few minutes later, or as Brianna our burglar calls it, second breakfast._

 _To tell the truth, I'm still unsure about Brianna as our burglar. On the first morning after she'd joined our quest a few days ago, she complained about leaves getting in her hair, only for Nadja to dump an entire handful of leaves into her hair just to show how fussy she was coming across as, only for her to flip out even more. She's kind of prissy like that. She also once expressed distaste over having to cross a river in her dress about two days ago and we argued for about five minutes before finally Gillian allowed her to ride on her horse. Of course the river only went up to our ponies chests so I kind of understand why she was in such distress._

 _She's noticeably eased up more after hearing Barbara and Traude's story of Moria, which is good and she seems to be getting along with Bertha, Bridget and Beate just fine. If I may be allowed to go on the tangent, I prefer to hear the stories of Erebor long ago, to know where we're going and what it used to be like before that cursed, winged serpent stole it away. If I ever see that dragon, I'll show him what happens when you mess with us dwarves._

 _I feel now I must close this entry for the cliff that overlooks us is just begging for me to sketch it. End log._

 ** _*AUTHOR'S NOTE: I must inform the reader that from now on some members of the company might have slight changes done to their appearance from now on to better differentiate them should the need arise, like Beate now having reddish-brown hair, Dorothea having hazel eyes and hopefully better descriptions of what's going on and making sure everyone stays in character. I would have done this sooner but apparently I can't go back and fix it so my sincerest apologies and sorry this new chapter took so long to pump out. That being said, hoped you enjoyed the chapter. Next one involves mutton_**.


	13. The Regrettable Incident of the Mutton

"Dinner's done!" Bridget called out.

Everyone then suddenly hurried towards the pot, dressed in their night gowns and being sure not to slam into each other. The only ones missing were Kamilla and Frieda, but their absence was ignored by even Traude as she and the others circled around the pot to get their food, which was nestled under what was left of the farmhouse roof. Brianna ended up next to Ophelia. Bertha got out a bowl and handed it to Brianna but strangely she then got out a second empty bowl as Brianna took hold of the first.

"Brianna, would you hold this please?" she asked.

Brianna was perplexed but nonetheless complied and took the empty bowl which Bertha then filled with soup along with the other.

"There we go." she said "Would you be a dear and take this to Frieda and Kamilla?"

"What about my bowl?" Brianna asked.

"I'll serve you when you get back." Bridget replied.

"And I'll make sure she doesn't eat it all." Bertha said suspiciously looking at her sister "Now hurry and be on your way."

"Now wait a minute!" Bridget protested "What's that supposed to mean?!"

Bertha and Bridget then started arguing about food as Brianna started walking away. She made sure to carefully maneuver around everyone. She soon made it towards the area where the ponies were kept, now making an extra effort to avoid spilling the soup bowls as she stepped over sticks and twigs and the ferns brushed up against her gown. She finally made it into a clearing in the forest and there, along with the ponies stood Frieda and Kamilla, now dressed up in their nightgowns. Curiously enough, they had their backs turned to her. She cleared her throat but the girls didn't turn around. Brianna then felt even more confused and then decided to just walk up to them and soon she stood between the two, the soup bowls still in hand. The girls, as she saw, were staring in dumbfounded shock at...something. She looked where they seemed to be looking but just saw the ponies lazily eating or relaxing. Nothing more. She then briefly looked at them with her eyebrows raised slightly.

 _Okay, they're blinking so they didn't turn into statues._ she thought to herself _Better just ask them whatever the hell's going on._

"I'm sorry, did something happen?" she finally asked.

"Yeah." Kamilla replied "We had 16 ponies originally."

"But then when we got back from changing into our gowns…" Frieda said "...we only had 14."

 _The ponies just up and vanished?_ Brianna thought to herself.

Indeed, it's rather strange for a pony to magically disappear at will, a sentiment shared by the three. The sisters then stepped forward and inspected the area where the ponies were, with Brianna following after with the bowls still in hand.

"Daisy and Bungle are missing." Kamilla proclaimed.

"Yes, I can see that." Brianna added "This is not good at-"

She stopped suddenly when she noticed two of the trees had been uprooted and one of which was ripped in half. Kamilla and Frieda took notice as well.

"Sweet mother of Brandybuck." Brianna said to herself "Shouldn't we tell Traude?"

"Nah." Kamilla said "We wouldn't want to disturb her after all."

"I think what my sister's trying to say is that as our burglar, you might help us with the situation." Frieda explained.

"Oh...alright." Brianna thought as she observed the fallen trees "Well, something big uprooted these trees. Probably quite dangerous."

"Real big fella." Kamilla said as she caught sight of the soup "Oh my, is that for us?"

Brianna had quite forgotten about the soup in her hands and just nodded as she handed Kamilla's bowl to her. They then heard Frieda go 'Psst!' and they saw her ducked behind one of the trees and motioning for them to come. They hurried towards her and made sure their faces from the eyes upward were above the tree trunk. They saw the glow of a fireplace nearby with faint but clear shadows of some rather huge creatures and they could hear the sound of them laughing.

"There's a light." Frieda whispered "Do you see?"

"Aye." Kamilla replied.

"What is it?" Brianna asked "Orcs?"

"Trolls." Kamilla responded.

"Hey, is that mine?" Frieda asked, pointing to the bowl left in Brianna's hand.

"Oh this?" she replied "Yeah sure."

Frieda took the bowl and then, much to Brianna's shock, clambered with Kamilla over the trunk and charged forward as quietly as possible. Brianna sighed an irritated sigh, rolling her eyes as she followed after them. As the three women sprinted, they heard the sound of branches and sticks crashing and shuffling about, accompanied by the neighing of ponies. The three split up with Frieda and Kamilla ducking behind a rock and Brianna ducking behind a tree. The sounds got louder and the three turned their heads to see a full-grown mountain troll trudging towards the fire with two ponies tucked under his arms, neighing in fright.

"It's got Myrtle and Minty!" Brianna exclaimed as quietly as possible "We've got to do something!"

"Wait a minute…" Frieda whispered back "..you could go get them!"

Brianna stammered in surprise. "Me?!"

"It's perfectly fine! We'll be right back here if you need us." Kamilla responded as she and her sister shoved Brianna out into the open.

"But what if I need help?!" Brianna hissed.

"Then hoot twice like an owl then bark like a dog!" Frieda replied "And we will do what we can!"

Brianna nodded in an attempt to make them shut up so she could focus as she turned around to follow the troll, only to stop as the absurdity of what they'd just told her finally hit her. She turned around to say something only to find they'd already gone, leaving her alone in the middle of the woods to deal with the the trolls herself.

 _My heroes._ she thought to herself as she rolled her eyes.

And so she started following after the troll, being sure to be as quiet as possible. She soon was at the fireplace only to discover that the troll had two more of his kind sitting round a pot. These trolls were particularly bizarre looking with crusted, bruised skin like an elephant's, large yellow eyes, clawed hands, simian-like feet, hunched backs, jaws that looked like a cross between a crocodile and a vulture and sharp teeth. As Brianna quietly moved towards a makeshift pen where the ponies were being kept, she overheard their rather loud conversation.

"Mutton yesterday, mutton today!" said the third one named Bert "And blimey, if it don't look like mutton again tomorrow!"

"Shut you're yap!" replied the leader Tom as he flopped the Minty and Myrtle into the pen "These are west nags, freshly caught!"

"Oh fok, seriously?! I don't even like horse!" whined the second one William "Not enough fat on them!"

"Well, it was either that or more farmers." Bert said "All skin and bones they were."

"I'm still picking bits of those little buggers outta my teeth." Tom said as he sat down across from Bert.

Brianna by this point had made it to the pen but noticed the knot was tied good and tight. And it proved to be difficult to untie by herself. As tried to figure out what do to, William then sneezed rather loudly and a big blob of nasal fluid and goop fell into the stew, much to annoyance of the other two.

"Oh well that's just bloomin' peachy." Bert said in the most sarcastic way imaginable "A floater."

"Hey now, it might just improve the flavor!" Tom said in an equally sarcastic tone.

Unfortunately William, being the complete idiot he was, thought they were complimenting him.

"Well, there's more where that came from!" he said as he started snorting.

Bert then immediately grabbed his nose tightly. "Oh no, you don't!"

Brianna then rolled her eyes and went back to the knot to try and find a way to untie it, while William groaned in irritation in the background as Bert refused to let go of his nose.

"Now sit down and shut up, you domkop!" he ordered as he finally released William's nose.

"I'm starving!" Tom moaned "Are we bloody having horse tonight or what?!"

"Don't you start complaining!" Bert protested "You'll eat what I'll give ya!"

Brianna in the meantime was still having trouble with the knot and had to restrain herself from sighing with irritation. She was just about to leave and get the girls help when suddenly she caught sight of a massive knife that William had as he took his equally large cloth and blew into it as he sneezed again. Brianna then wasted no time in crouching down and slowly making her way towards it, while the trolls continued bickering.

"How come this dof is the cook?" Tom demanded "Everything tastes like damn chicken!"

"Except the chicken." William added.

"You know, a little appreciation from you guys would be nice!" Bert snarled "'Gee, thanks Bert!' 'Lovely stew, Bert!' How hard is that?"

The three of them then quietly stared at each other with rather cross looks as Bert continued stirring the stew. Brianna had managed to make it towards William during their silent standoff but when she got both behind and next to him like she intended, his scent was so foul that she actually felt as if she'd vomit right then and there. But without the knife, she knew she couldn't untie the knot. So she mustered up her courage, took a deep breath and then reached for the knife to untie it...only for William to get another sneezing fit and reach out, grab Brianna by mistake along with his cloth and then sneeze all over the poor hobbit. And lo and behold, when he opened his eyes, their was Brianna covered in snot from head to toe.

"Feckin' hell!" he barked "Look what came out of me nose!"

Both Bert and Tom then came over and saw the hobbit inside their fellow trolls hand, both now equally perplexed.

"I don't think that came out of your nose, boet." Tom said.

"I should say not!" Brianna finally exclaimed "You've ruined my dress!"

"THAAAH! IT SPEAKS!" William shrieked as he threw her out of his hand.

Brianna landed simultaneously on her back and side, with some of the leaf litter breaking her fall. She looked to her right to see all three trolls looking at her as Tom cracked his knuckles.

"What are you then?" he asked "An over-sized squirrel?"

"I-I'm a burgla-hobbit!" Brianna replied as she corrected herself.

"A burglar hobbit?" William said "What's that?"

"Who the hell cares?" Bert said as he got a rather creepy smile on his face "Let's eat it!"

Brianna quickly started looking for a way out as the trolls stretched out their hands and tried to grab her, with her evading their grasp. The trolls proved to be rather clumsy and knocked over the stew pot Bert had been making, spilling stew all over the place. Then again, the opportunity of a new meal had taken their minds off the stew. Brianna meanwhile had remembered what Kamilla and Frieda had told her and she began making animal noises rather loudly,,hoping someone would hear her. She then saw a clearing near the pony pen and went for it only for Tom to grab her by the legs and hurl her up, much to her dismay.

"Gotcha!" he said "Now, what'll we do with you?"

"Maybe there's more burglar hobbits around." Bert piped up "Might be enough for a pie!"

"Yeah!" William said excitedly as he drew out his knife "But let's see how she tastes first!"

The second he finished saying that, a burst of pain from the back of his left leg went up his body and he shrieked in pain, dropping the knife as the three trolls and Brianna looked to see Kamilla with her sword in hand, now partly covered in troll blood step out from behind the nearby bushes and for Frieda to appear from behind some ferns, with her own sword in hand.

"Release the hobbit!" Frieda ordered.

"What?!" the three trolls said at once.

"You heard us." Kamilla added "Release her!"

Tom angrily complied and tossed Brianna at them. The two managed to catch her and no sooner did the three of them hit the ground then, with loud war cries, in charged the rest of the company and began making attacks at the trolls. Frieda and Kamilla had decided to just up and tell Traude about what had happened and now the girls were launching a rescue effort not just for the ponies but for Brianna as well. As she got up and Kamilla and Frieda joined in the fighting, she caught sight of the knife, which had landed nearby the pony pen. She hastily scurried towards it, doing her best to ignore the sounds of fighting, stabbing and trolls roaring. She grasped hold of the knife with both hands (it turned out to be way heavier than she thought) and then began slicing away at the ropes.

As she did so, she briefly glanced at the girls who were in the midst of combat and attempting to buy her time. As silly as they looked with their nightgowns and robes on, they more then made of up for it in fighting skills, managing to get in several good hits while they aimed directly for any sensitive part of the trolls they could find. Brianna in the meantime returned to slicing at the ropes. In no time at all the ropes were cut and the door flopped onto the ground, allowing the ponies to scamper off.

Unfortunately, the trolls took notice. As the skirmish finally reached it's end, Tom made a beeline for Brianna followed quickly by the other two. They could move remarkably fast for trolls and then with a loud crashing they blocked off the girls from Brianna, with William putting his foot on Brianna's chest. The girls angrily stared at the trolls, considering their options while the trolls glared back at them.

"Lay down your arms!" Tom roared "Or we squash her like a bug!"

Traude was silent as she and the girls considered their options. She was concerned that they'd squash her if they resisted and they'd probably squish her anyway even if they laid down their arms. But then again their was a third option and now it seemed the more logical one.

She then sighed "If we drop our weapons, will you release her?"

"Yeah, whatever domkop." Bert snarled.

"Okay then." Traude said showing remarkable restraint "Girls, drop your weapons."

"What?!" Gerlinde exclaimed while everyone else stared in shock.

"Just do it." Traude responded as she threw down her axe.

The girls for a few seconds thought of not doing as she ordered but then it became clear that this was the only way to save their burglar. And so, reluctantly, they dropped their weapons.

*AUTHOR'S NOTE: New chapter for the holidays! Merry Christmas! Next chapter will be a somewhat side deviation, however. I'll explain more when it arrives.


	14. Ramona and the Necromancer of Dol Guldur

_Southern Mirkwood, Late Evening, A Few Days Ago_

The sky was now turning dark pink with the clouds becoming a very dark purple as the light faded away and night crept ever closer. Ramona had been on her rabbit sled for almost the entirety of the day. Her bunnies were now starting to feel exhausted when they ground to a halt in the middle of a patch of forest at the slope of a cliff side. But it wasn't just the need to catch their breath that caused them to stop. There was something else too.

As Ramona got off her sled, she looked at the forest around her. She could barely see the sky through the leaves as the forest canopy had become choked with webs, some of which wrapped themselves around the trees down to the root like snakes. The bark of the trees also looked dry and crusted, as if all moisture had been drained out of them like dried up husks of raisins. And as she looked down at her feet, she saw that the ground was starting to become absent of leaves, leaving spaces of black earth. She looked around to make sure she wasn't being watched then reached into her sled, grabbing her staff and a hand-made knapsack. As she walked forward, she reached into the knapsack and then sprinkled chopped up carrot bits onto the ground next to her rabbits like one spreads seeds on the ground. The rabbits then started eating them hastily and loudly but Ramona shushed them.

"You must eat quieter, little ones. And stay put." she said softly "Mamma will be right back."

She made her way through the forest as carefully and quietly as possible, going up the slope as she went. She also observed the forest around her as she went, with the webs starting to thicken. She just barely missed tripping over a fallen log but managed to evade it. However, no more then twenty steps away from it she suddenly caught sight of a pathway and found herself staring at an eerie sight.

Just on the borders the forest and on the other side of the path was, built onto the outcrop of the cliff just ahead, a large fortress. The fortress looked out over the land on the darkening horizon like a ghostly lighthouse. It's tallest towers looked about the height of the tallest trees with the top of one broken down. The fortress itself was in disrepair with no walls to speak of separating it from the sheer drop of the cliffside into the field below. But what caught Ramona's eye were some faint but visible glows emanating from what appeared to be windows. Someone was there. In any other scenario, Ramona would have left but after what had happened to Sebastian, she was determined to get to the bottom of this mystery. She grasped her staff tightly and then sprinted towards the fortress, running across the pathway. As she went, she also observed the ground below her. There were no plants to speak of. It was the same black, volcanic dirt she'd seen only in patches where her bunnies were only now it was an entire field that seemed to go on forever. It seemed as if whatever was dwelling in this forest was making the ground itself sick. She didn't dwell on it for long for she soon arrived at the entrance and came upon a gate. She briefly paused, unsure of what to do, taking a look behind her at the forest before taking hold of the metal bars of the gate. She nervously opened it, with the creak of the metal sending shivers down her spine. Her skin began losing it's color and her hair was standing on end as she quietly entered the fortress, not bothering to close the gate behind her.

She then muttered something in Quenya and her staff glowed bright aqua as she soon began searching the area of the fortress around her. Normally at a place this abandoned, planets would thrive with them growing in the cracks between tiles and trees growing round. But there were none. No grass, ferns, lychan, roots or even trees and their fallen leaves. Just blank, empty stone, made creepier by the sound of the wind blowing through the cracks, holes and windows.

 _How can this be? There's no life here at all._ Ramona thought _And all I can hear is the wind. What...what dark power dwells in this place?_

Her thoughts were interrupted when she got the uneasy feeling she was being watched. She turned around when she heard the sound of scurrying feet but saw nothing. She did, however, see a door that was partly open. She nervously walked into the passage that the door opened too but kept the door open so she could get in as much light as possible before the sun fully set. The unease inside her grew as she went further down the passage, with only the light of her staff guiding her. After about a minute and a half, she saw a shaft of light as she turned a corner from a window and from a gaping hole that seemed to once contain a door. She stepped out and found herself in a courtyard which offered a view of the land around the fortress. The sun was now starting to sink faster under the trees in the distance, casting shadows in the fading light. Ramona looked around, pondering her next move when suddenly then a sudden snarling accompanied by running feet which caused her to gasp and turned around, with her staff leaned forward like a spear.

But there was nothing. Whatever it was had vanished.

With her back facing the sun and sweat starting to drip down her face, she decided now was a good time to leave for although she could be courageous if need be, she also was a realist and knew that if she stayed any longer, whatever was dwelling in this fortress might do heaven knows what to her. So she gracefully accepted the fact that Sebastian's attackers would have to be dealt with when she was better prepared.

But then as she began to make her leave she heard a sound unlike anything she'd heard before. It was a bizarre, deathly sound that sounded like someone groaning in pain mixed with air escaping a balloon. She looked in both directions but saw nothing. Now she was certain that she was being watched. The sound then re-appeared, now louder. She backed towards a column near where the pathway turned escape rout was and soon had her back against the wall. Unknown to her, though, a figure emerged as if from the ground itself. It was a pale ghost that looked as if it was made of smoke with a make-shift crown that looked to be made of bones and large blade in hand, which it lifted up as it prepared to stab Ramona in the head. However, Ramona looked up at just the right moment and saw the ghost as it then let out an unearthly shriek and swung the blade downwards, only for her to block it with her staff.

She backed away as she shoved herself backwards, managing to get some space between her and the ghost. The ghost glared at her and began swiping it's blade left and right, with Ramona successfully blocking the blows both times and in fact on the second time managed to smack the ghost as it lunged forward, with it letting out that same, demonic shriek as it dissipated as it made contact with the ground, with it's blade on the other hand becoming materialized and an actual object that landed at her feet. But just as Ramona thought the fight was over, she felt something suddenly turn the air cold. The wind became more rough as shivers went down her spine and goosebumps went up them. She then slowly turned around and what she saw made her skin lose it's color and caused her to start shaking.

From seemingly out of nowhere a giant cloud of black smoke rose up at the edge of the courtyard platform and began to take shape. The sun was almost set and the fortress was becoming shrouded in darkness, enabling the shadow to become larger. The smoke shadow then grew and grew till it was nine feet tall and shrouded by the rest of the smoke. It hung just above the ground like it was on invisible wires. The shadow then settled on a form and took the shape of what seemed human but also not, with the only thing distinguishing a face were it's glowing yellow, pupil-less eyes. To poor Ramona, it was staring into a swirling black hole darker then the darkest night, as if the thing was the physical embodiment of death itself. Cold air seemed to radiate from the ghostly figure which began to move towards Ramona slowly.

 **"Who are you?"** it demanded in a raspy, shrill but deep voice in a language Ramona only vaughly understood **"Why have you come?"**

Ramona didn't answer but instead grabbed the blade and stuffed in her bag and right as the monster prepared to lunge at her with it's arms stretched out, she slammed her staff onto the ground, creating a burst of light that actually stung the creature. Ramona had teleported herself back towards the gate and then hastily swung it open, almost knocking it off it's hinges. She then ran as fast as she could, with sounds of creatures growling and yelling behind her. She soon made it to the other side and briefly looked back to see hundreds of torch lights being lit and noises of dogs howling loudly coming from the fortress. She then returned to running and headed straight into the forest. By now it was almost pitch black save for the light of the moon and Ramona almost didn't make it to her rabbits, who were sleepily waiting for her.

She crashed through the bushes and whistled loudly as she grasped hold of the sleigh, trying to catch her breath. The bunnies instantly sprang to life and made a mad dash forward, almost throwing Ramona off. She didn't bother looking back to see if she was being followed. Right now, she could only think of escaping. And the only way to escape was by going as fast as she could.

 _ *** AUTHOR'S NOTE: This chapter was meant to go before the Roast Mutton chapter but I got the arrangement mixed up so that's why it's published after. I'm sorry for the inconvenience and the possible mood whiplash in the next chapter. Other then that, enjoy!**_


	15. An Idiots Guide to Troll Stalling

_The Edge of the Great East Road, Just Before Sunrise, Present_

The girls found themselves deeply regretting laying down their arms for they were soon stuffed into smelly potato sacks except for Daniella, Bertha, Dorothea, Nadja and Gerlinde who were now tied to a spit now placed above the fireplace. Bert and Tom were turning it on both sides while William walked around using what little brain he had to suggest a way to cooking the dwarves.

"Why are you bothering to cook them?!" he whined "We should just sit on them and squash them like a grape!"

"No, no, no!" Bert argued "We got to dab 'em with a sprinkle of sage."

"Why are we even talking about this? Let's get a move on." Tom snarled "Dawn's coming and I don't wanna get turned into fecking stone."

"Trust me, nothing would give us more joy right now!" Daniella said.

"Quiet you!" Tom responded.

It was then that Brianna got an idea. She'd heard once before about trolls hatred of sunlight and how it turned them to stone. She also didn't like the idea of her friends being devoured, squashed or heaven knows what else the trolls were planning, so she sprung up (which looked more awkward then she expected since she was stuck in the sack) and then cleared her throat.

"You're making a very terrible mistake!" she yelped.

The trolls immediately stopped what they were doing and gave Brianna strange confused looks while the girls were equally confused.

"What do you mean?" Bert finally asked.

"You can't possibly think to use sage on dwarf!" Brianna replied "You're gonna need something way stronger than that!"

"WHAT?!" the girls all shrieked.

"Traitor!" Bridget barked.

"Now wait a minute." Tom said "What would a little bosbefok like you know about cooking dwarves?"

"Hey, let's hear what the burglar-hobbit has to say." Bert insisted.

"But I'm still hungry!" William whined.

"Shut up!" Bert and Tom said together.

Brianna now found herself in a bit of a pickle. On the one hand she now had her chance to stall the trolls and seeing as how they were really as stupid as Frieda and Kamilla made them out to be (though she could never figure out how they were able to make such a complex knot when they held the ponies captive). On the other hand, however, that's just what she had to do: stall them. And she'd have to think of something or else they'd all be troll fodder. This all went through her mind in about thirteen seconds.

"Well?!" Bert barked impatiently "What's the secret?!"

"Okay, I think I remember now." Brianna finally replied "The secret to cooking dwarf is...you gotta slice 'em up!"

All the girls angrily shouted and protested, especially the ones on the spit who had not only the apparent betrayal but also the roaring fire under them.

"Cannibal!" Kamilla yelped.

"How could you do this to us?!" Barbara demanded.

"If we get out of this, I'm going to slap you right across the face!" Dorothea snarled.

"Are you serious?" Tom responded "That's the stupid thing I've ever heard. Let's just swallow them whole."

William suddenly got a very malevolent smile "He's right. Always wanted to try a bit of live dwarf!"

He then grabbed Bridget and began lifting her above his head as he tilted it, much to poor Bertha and Beate's horror.

"You bastard, let her go!" Bertha shouted "Don't you touch her!"

"Don't eat her!" Beate begged.

William just ignored them and opened his mouth wide, revealing to Bertha his sharp, jagged teeth with a horrible smell coming from them which made Bridget feel nauseous. Brianna frantically thought of a way to get the troll to put Bridget down. She then suddenly remembered something she'd seen in one of Dorothea's medical books that was left open and figured it was best just to use that, without even fully knowing what the phrase even meant.

"Not that one, she has a disease!" she blurted out.

William suddenly stopped and turned his head to Brianna along with a confused Bridget who now was beginning to understand what Brianna was getting at.

"The hell are you talking about?" Bert asked.

"She has...um…" Brianna said as she remembered what the word was "...necrotizing fascitis!"

Only Dorothea and Ophelia really knew what that was but everyone else didn't, which just added to their confusion. But William didn't care and threw Bridget to the ground, squealing with disgust like he had actually touched something with that disease. Bridget hit the ground and rolled up back to the others, while Brianna decided to run with it.

"In fact, they're all sick!" she said trying to hold back a smirk "I mean heaven knows what kind of diseases they have, bloody slobs!"

"D-Did she just call us diseased slobs?" Frieda asked.

"We don't have diseases!" Kamilla said.

"Yeah, you're a disease!" Nadja barked.

Everyone then started hurtling insults at Brianna when Traude (who had kept her mouth shut) quickly glanced to her far left and noticed two things: the early dawn light just beginning to peak through the leaves of the trees and bushes but also a figure who quickly moved from the bushes to behind the rock while everyone was still angrily shouting. She thought it looked like Gillian and wondered if Brianna saw it too. So she promptly kicked Barbara and Ottilie while also clearing her throat which caused everyone to shut up and Brianna to turn around and give an expression that asked _what's going on?_ Traude then motioned towards Brianna and mouthed "Play along with it." It finally clicked in everyone's brain like a lightbulb switch and they frantically began thinking of random diseases to list off.

"I've got this raging infection in the back of my neck!" Ottilie said.

"You don't want me neither!" Frieda replied "I'm riddled with fleas!"

"I've got leprosy!" Ophelia went on.

"I got a bad case of the jaundice!" Daniella responded.

"I've got the flu something fierce!" Gerlinde replied.

"I'm sorry to say I have the gout!" Beate said.

"I have a rash in between my-" Nadja started.

"It's not as bad as my spinal problem!" Dorothea shouted cutting her sister off.

"I wear curlers to bed!" Kamilla blurted out.

"Quiet!" Tom roared, fed up with all this nonsense.

Everyone quieted down only for him to glare at Brianna while Bert and William just stood around still trying to process everything.

"You don't think I don't know what you domkops are up too?!" Tom snarled before turning to the other two "This ferret is taking us for fools!"

"F-Ferret?!" Brianna stuttered in surprise.

"The dawn will take you all!" bellowed a familiar voice.

The trolls looked towards the top of the rock as did the girls and they saw Gillian standing on top of it, staff in hand and sunrise changing the color of the sky behind her to a soft yellowish pink as it illuminated her. The trolls, practically starving, viewed her as their next meal, which proved to be their undoing.

"Look boys!" Bert said "An appetizer!"

"Yeah." Tom said smiling.

"Finally! Something we can eat!" William barked.

"Well then…" Gillian replied "...allow me to satisfy your hunger!"

With that, she twirled her staff and slammed it onto the rock, which split the rock in half right down the middle, causing the left side to fall over and the rising sunlight to come rushing in. And in literally twenty seconds and before they could do anything about it, the trolls were turned into stone. The girls were briefly blinded but once their vision cleared up they were never more happy to see Gillian. Brianna sighed with relief while everyone else cheered and Gillian just smiled as if it were business as usual. Of course, the cheering subsided a little when they remembered they were still in the sacks.

"Nadja, get your foot out of my back!" Daniella yelped.


	16. That New Trollshaw Cave Smell

As the girls got to work freeing each other, Gillian walked around and observed her handywork with the trolls who were now stone statues. She chuckled as she tapped one of them to make sure the spell had worked and it had. Meanwhile, Dorothea was finally freed as she climbed off the spit and landed on her feet as Brianna walked up to her. Brianna was just about to say something and shake Dorothea's hand when the latter suddenly slapped her right in the face with such force that Brianna almost fell over. She looked flabbergasted as Dorothea gave her a very nasty look.

"That's for almost getting us eaten!" she snarled as she started to calm down "And...I'm sorry for slapping you."

"Well, apology accepted." Brianna said still rubbing her left cheek in shock "I'm going to go see how everyone's doing."

"Yeah, you do that." Dorothea said.

Brianna then went around apologizing for freaking everyone out while they freed themselves and got more than a few angry responses, but still everyone was grateful for not being devoured. Meanwhile, Gillian looked to Traude who approached her after having been freed from her sack and was brushing herself off.

"Okay so where did you go, if I may ask?" she inquired.

"To look on ahead." Gillian replied.

"And what brought you back?" Traude asked again.

"Looking behind." Gillian responded "But thankfully you're all alive and in one piece."

"Yeah, I guess we are." Traude said "But since when to mountain trolls venture this far south?"

Gillian shrugged slightly. "Not for a long time. But it's obvious they couldn't have moved in daylight. So they must have a cave nearby."

"And where there's a cave there's probably supplies." Traude said "I should go tell the others."

"Now hold on a minute there." Gillian said as she put her staff in Traude's way "I suggest changing into your clothes first. Those nightgowns aren't exactly the gear for exploration."

Traude then looked at her gown, stained partially with leaf litter and mud, and she had to agree with Gillian. So she ordered the girls to change into new, clean clothes. It took them about an hour or so but eventually they all changed into their new clothes and followed Gillian into the forest. After a while they arrived at the foot of the giant rock formation that overlooked the forest and prairie where they uncovered a cave large enough for them all to walk in, with the caves ceiling being about two feet taller then the tip of Gillian's hat (and her hat was very tall mind you). So Daniella, Nadja, Beate, Bertha and Gerlinde were chosen to accompany Traude along with Gillian into the cave while the others looked after the supplies and washed their clothes. However when they walked in, they were greeted with a rather unflattering smell.

"Ech! What's that horrible odor?!" Bertha demanded.

"That, ladies, is the smell of a troll horde." Gillian replied "Now be careful of what you touch."

The girls spread out and searched the cave, with Traude and Daniella carrying makeshift torches and came upon some rather interesting finds. Inside was stored various items that the trolls had stolen from various caravans and towns, including weapons, household items, a couple of crates and, most curious of all, boxes stuffed with gold coins and money. That especially caught the girl's eyes.

"Oh my, it seems a shame to leave this gold lying around." Bertha said in a mischievous tone as she fiddled with one of the box tops "Anyone could take it."

"Yeah you're right." Gerlinde replied "What we need is a shovel."

Beate suddenly exclaimed and headed out the cave much to Bertha, Daniella and Nadja's surprise. Nadja then looked down to her left and found the solution to their problem.

"Oh look, there's a shovel right there." she said.

"Well, do whatever it is you need to do." Daniella said handing them the shovel "I'm going to further inspect the cave."

"Kay." Gerlinde replied.

As all this was going on, Traude and Gillian noticed some barrels next to a pile of damaged crates and items and inside the barrels were swords of many shapes and sizes. They approached them and looked over the swords. These were finely crafted and looked to be in peak condition, albeit now covered with cobwebs and dust.

"These weren't made by the trolls." Traude said as she took one.

"Doesn't seem they were made by any smith among men either." Gillian replied.

Gillian took her own sword which was nearly as long as her staff and partially unsheathed it. The sword had carvings resembling tree branches on it. The hilt and handle were carved out of wood and tipped with steel. The sword itself looked like steel but Gillian could see it had elements of crystal in it. It then clicked in her brain whose swords these belonged to while she also noticed similar traits in Traude's sword.

"These swords were forged in Gondolin." she said "By the high Elves of the First Age."

Traude immediately got a squeamish look on her face and then began placing the sword back in the barrel as if she'd something contaminated. Gillian, on the other hand, was having none of it.

"Young lady, you could not wish for a finer blade." she said.

Traude was going to make a comeback but then took a second look at the sword as she then partly unsheathed it. It was indeed a sight to behold, beautifully made with carvings resembling vines on the sides and the steel/crystal sword gleamed in the light of the torches. Traude silently swallowed her pride and had to admit that even though it was made by...them, it still looked like a useful weapon and one worthy of royalty. So she sheathed the sword and tied it to her belt-strap. Meanwhile, the others were had finished digging their hole which was waist deep and were placing two small chests of treasure inside it, while Daniella came back and got confused over what in the hell they were doing.

"We're making ourselves a long term deposit." Gerlinde explained "In case we fail."

"But in that case shouldn't we bring some of it with us for supplies?" Daniella asked.

"Hmmm...didn't think of that." Gerlinde replied as she began doing the math in her head "Let's see that's two chests in this here hole…"

"Okay I got it!" said a voice excitedly.

The four of them turned to see Beate beaming from ear to ear, holding a shovel upright like a flagpole, with some dirt from outside now staining the hem of her white gown which had tiny little black dots scattered throughout it.

"Got what?" Nadja asked.

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry." Beate responded as her shyness crept back in "You guys needed a shovel so I went outside and I-"

"Ah, there's no need!" Nadja replied as she held up their own shovel "See? Solved the problem ourselves."

"I don't think we'll be needing that shovel, cousin." Bertha said "Maybe next time."

Beate looked very saddened as her smile disappeared. "I see. I-I-I'm sorry, then. It's just that-" she tried to say as she retreated behind her red hair "I'm sorry if I'm bothering you all."

"There's no need to apologize, lassie." Daniella said.

"Sorry. It's a bad habit of mine." Beate replied "I'll just g-go then."

"I think she's right. We should leave this foul place." Traude ordered as she walked in on the conversation "Gerlinde, Bertha, Nadja! Bury those chests and then take one more for the trip. Let's go."

As Traude began walking out with Beate and Daniella and the other three got to work, Gillian decided to peer around some more and then noticed a rat going through the leaf litter on the cave floor. She nudged it away and it scurried off, but as it left it unearthed the tip of something that caught Gillian's eye. She leaned down and cleared away more leaves and dirt, revealing something that she thought a certain member of the company would need.

Outside of the cave at the entrance, Brianna was sitting down brushing her hair while everyone made their way out of the cave. Ottilie was sitting about twelve feet behind her, busy sketching the trees and forrest plants surrounding the cave. Brianna was thankfull that she could sit and relax after all the mayhem that had happened last night and she was grateful for having been sure to pack extra clothes for the journey and she was now a purple and navy blue dress lined with white and a light colored vest. As she put her brush away in her bag and flicked her hair to make sure it didn't get in front of her face, Gillian emerged from the cave with a short sword in her right hand.

"Brianna, here." she said as she handed Brianna the sword "This looks to be about your side."

Brianna took the sword, reluctantly at first as she was unsure whether having a weapon was a good idea as she thought her staff was good enough.

"Thank you." she said.

"No problem. I think it'll come in handy." Gillian replied "It's an Elvish blade and it will glow blue whenever orcs or goblins are nearby."

Brianna sighed nervously. "Gillian, I don't think I can take this. I've never held a sword in my life."

"And I hope you never have to." Gillian responded softly "But if you ever have to, remember this: true courage comes from knowing not when to take a life, but when to spare one."

Brianna smiled as she know felt more comfortable with her sword. She now began to realize why her parents and Old Took were such good friends with Gillian. Because whenever she spoke or gave advice to anyone, she meant every word of it. And then very slowly, from that moment onwards, she started to become less of a Baggins and more of a Took.

Suddenly, there was the sound of crashing from the bushes and undergrowth and birds twittering in fright.

"Someone's coming!" Traude yelled "Arm yourselves, girls!"

"Stay together!" Gillian ordered as she followed after the girls "Hurry now!"

As everyone gathered together and drew their weapons as they headed towards the source of the noise, Brianna took a moment to draw her sword and observe. It was rather plain compared to Traude and Gillian's swords but nonetheless was finely crafted and had carvings of the vines of trees with leaves on the side. Brianna couldn't help but stare in wonder at her new sword and began to wonder if the time would come for her to use it.

"Brianna!" Ottilie called out "Come on!"

With her thought train interrupted for a second time, Brianna stood up, sheathed her sword, grabbed her things and headed off to join everyone who had hesitated to go forward without her and only did so when she arrived. So, with their weapons drawn, the girls prepared themselves for whatever was coming through the bushes, as the crashing noise became louder and louder.


	17. Nice to Warg You

Ramona clung tightly to her sleigh as it went like lightning through the forest undergrowth, still being pulled by her rabbit steeds. She'd been traveling for almost a week and felt like it too. But the occasional branch or bush smacking into her (sometimes face-first) kept her awake (she however had been sane enough to take sleeping breaks in that amount of time). She finally emerged into the clearing where the company was, leading to them yelling loudly when the bunnies burst out only to flabbergasted at them and at Ramona herself on her sleigh.

"Whoa, whoa!" Ramona called out to her rabbits.

The rabbits screeched to a halt (which for rabbits is no easy feet) right in front of Brianna, Daniella, Frieda and Ophelia, who were stunned at the sight of a rabbit pulled sleigh with a woman as it's driver. Gillian of course knew it was right off.

"Relax, everyone." she said "It's Ramona the Brown."

"Who?!" everyone asked at once.

Gillian rolled her eyes. "She's a fellow wizard."

"Oh okay." everyone replied simultaneously.

"It's nice to meet all of you." Ramona said "Though I wish we could have met under better circumstances."

"How do you mean?" Gillian asked.

"I've looking for you all over the place." Ramona replied "Something's wrong, Gillian."

"What?" Gillian inquired.

"You see I…" Ramona began as she noticed how awkward it was having everyone around her hearing this "...Would you mind if we discussed this alone?"

Gillian smiled assuringly. "Of course. We'll just be a minute, girls."

The girls nodded in approval and while they set about relaxing, Gillian and Ramona walked about twenty feet away near where the trees opened up to a clearing in the forest. Gillian sat down on a rock, with her staff leaning on her right shoulder as she pulled out her pipe and then began calmly smoking while Ramona composed herself and cleared her throat.

"Alright, Ramona." Gillian said between puffs "What's wrong?"

"The Greenwood is sick." Ramona responded "The further you go into the forest, the plants have started to wither away. I've seen dead animals with their bodies drained of blood and tangled up in the webs."

"Webs?" Gillian asked with sudden concern.

"Spiders, Gillian. Lots of them." Ramona replied "Spawns of Ungoliant, I'm sure of it. They're draping their webs all over the forest canopy and choking everything."

"Good heavens." Gillian said.

"That's not all. I followed the spider's trail." Ramona continued "They came from Dol Guldur."

Gillian then blinked in surprise, emptied her pipe of it's ashes and put it back in her bag. She hadn't heard the name Dol Guldur in literally decades and had thought the fortress had long been abandoned and left to fade into the mists of time. But judging from what Ramona had said, it clearly was not abandoned. But Gillian was a master of keeping her cool in a tight situation so she brushed back a piece of hair that had gotten in front of her eyes while Ramona still waited for her answer.

"But the old fortress was abandoned long ago." she said "Wasn't it?"

Ramona gulped. "No, Gillian, it's not."

She then began recounting her encounters in Dol Guldur, making sure not to leave anything out. Meanwhile while that was going on, the girls were busy going around and relaxing. Daniella was, however, doing probably the most eye-catching thing. She would glance to the bunnies over and over again before looking up at the tree canopy. Until finally, after making sure nobody was looking, snatched a cabbage from Bridget's bag as she attempted to nap and threw it to the bunnies, who quickly began feasting on it. She then got a very soft smile on her face...which quickly turn into shock when she turned around and was met by her sister Barbara who had her arms folded and had a mischievous smirk on her face.

"You like bunnies?" Barbara asked trying to restrain a giggle.

"Of course not, you ninny." Daniella lied as she got up "But I wasn't going to let them starve. I'm not a sadist."

"Alright." Barbara said as Daniella walked away.

As Barbara went about her business (while chuckling to herself at her sister's fondness for bunnies), Traude had been busy looking over her axe, with her new Elven blade tucked into it's sheath and her oak shield draped over her shoulders and back like a backpack. It felt unusual for her to have an Elven weapon with her but she thought that just going along with Gillian's request to take it was better than throwing a hissy fit. And, in Gillian's defense, the sword did look in mint condition and rather threatening. A perfect weapon for a dwarf. Traude's thought train was broken by someone clearing their throat nervously to her right and then going "Um…". Had she bothered to turn around, she would have discovered it was Beate, wringing her hands nervously and looking down at the ground.

"M-M-My lady, am I b-bothering you?" she stammered.

"A little but I think I can spare some time." Traude said as she turned to face her "What's the matter?"

"It's rather hard to explain, to be honest." Beate said shyly "But...you see I'm wondering-"

"Hey, Traude, could you come over here for a second?" Barbara called out from a few feet away.

"Alright, hang on!" Traude replied "So sorry Beate, I'll get back to...whatever it is you need."

Beate sighed. "It's alright. It was stupid anyway."

As she backed away she suddenly bumped into Nadja who was stashing a goblet she'd gone back and snatched from the cave into her bag. Nadja gave her a rather annoyed look while Beate began stammering and wringing her hands again.

"O-Oh, I'm sorry." she said "Y-Y-You can go on ahead. I was in the way."

"Sure, whatever you say Beate." Nadja replied as she began walking away.

Now in the meantime, down by the rocks near the clearing, Ramona finished her story of what she had encountered, leaving Gillian in quite a shock. Both wizards stood for a few seconds in awkward silence, waiting for the other to respond until Gillian finally cleared her throat.

"Is there anything you brought back from there?" she asked "Any evidence to support this?"

Ramona nodded, looked around to make sure no one was watching, then reached into her jacket and pulled out something wrapped up in a piece of tattered cloth. Gillian got up and approached Ramona, then was handed the mysterious object as she unwrapped it. When she unwrapped it, her eyes grew as big as dinner plates and a cold chill went down her spine and caused the hairs on the back of her neck to stand up on end and she found it difficult to keep her cool. Ramona looked equally uncomfortable but she had at least the benefit of knowing what the thing was before hand.

"That is not from the world of the living." she said with a twinge of fear in her voice.

Gillian looked to her friend, then wrapped up the weapon and stuffed it into her own knapsack she had slouched over her shoulders.

"I'll hold onto it for you." she responded "For safe-keeping."

"Alright then." Ramona replied "Just...please be careful with it. We don't want it falling into-"

Their discussion was interrupted by the sudden sound of a wolf-like creature howling. And it sounded very close. as interrupted by the booming sound of something howling. It sounded like some unearthly cross between a bear and a wolf. And it sounded like it was close. The girls had all heard it too. Beate, who was just about to sit down next to Brianna, Bertha and Gerlinde, suddenly froze and looked around to see where the noise was coming. Her breathing suddenly became very sharp and labored and she very nearly collapsed when she sat down on one of the rocks. Brianna was equally afraid as everyone else.

"Was that a wolf?" she said as fear gripped her voice "A-Are there wolves out there?"

"Wolves?" Bertha said hastily as she grabbed her hammer "No that's no wolf."

"Draw your weapons." Traude ordered "Stay alert. Beate and Dorothea, go check on the ponies."

"Yes, my lady." Dorothea said as she nodded "Quickly Beate hurry!"

Beate silently complied, grabbed her spear and ran towards Dorothea so fast that when she stopped she almost slammed into her. As they began their way to the ponies, the girls drew their weapons and looked around for the source of the noise. Beate had never been so horrified in her life. If she were anymore scared she'd have been the color of snow. She looked to her right to see if there was anything near her and then she noticed something in the ferns. Something that looked like a huge furred rock behind the ferns and bushes...and then all hell broke loose.

With shockingly quick speed and a loud, ear-piercing roar, a huge warg suddenly leaped out of the bushes as if by magic and was in fact so close then when it lept out, the swipe of it's paw knocked Dorothea backwards and just missed slashing Beate's spine with it's claws, sending her crashing into some ferns and a tree trunk. The warg then grabbed Dorothea by her foot and attempted to drag her away but Dorothea had her sword on her and smacked the warg right in the nose. The warg let go of her instantly, just enough time for Traude to charge forward and slash the wargs throat, with blood splashing onto the ground as it fell over. But as Traude then began stabbing the warg in the throat to make sure it stayed dead, another warg charged forward from far ahead in the undergrowth much to everyone's shock. Kamilla quickly drew an arrow from her quiver and fired it at the warg. It struck the warg between it's front left leg and it's heart. The warg tripped over itself when the arrow hit, breaking a rather large tree branch as it hit the ground twelve feet away from Traude. It made an attempt to attack Traude but Daniella arrived in the nick of time and slammed her axes into the creature's skull.

Gillian and Ramona made it to the girls (it had proven somewhat difficult due to the rocks being damp and slippery from the morning mist earlier that day). Traude managed to free her sword from the wargs trachea, with blood splatting all over the second deceased warg and a bit got on Daniella's face. Dorothea had stayed on the ground the whole time and was relieved that it was all over.

"On your feet everyone!" Traude ordered as she helped her up "Ottilie! Gerlinde! Check on the ponies!"

Everyone hurriedly began doing varying things, including packing their things and grabbing the nightgowns they'd set out to dry. For a brief moment, Brianna was able to glance to Dorothea as she rushed to Beate's side, who was already being comforted by her cousins Bertha and Bridget. The warg hadn't done much damage but what damage it did do wasn't pleasant. She had a nasty gash on her left eyebrow with blood flowing from the wound and she had a cut on her ear. She was crying very harshly as she struggled to calm her breathing. Bertha kept patting her on the shoulder while Bridget returned with a small purse that she pulled out a hip flask.

"Here, drink this." she said "It'll calm your nerves."

Beate snatched it out of her cousin's hands and chugged nearly the whole thing down as tears slid down her cheeks. She then gasped for air as she finished drinking and handed the flask back to her cousin. Brianna finally got her courage up together (or lack thereof at the moment) and asked the question that Gillian was sure she'd ask.

"What the sam-flippin' hell was that?!" she barked.

"Warg scouts." Traude replied as she cleaned the sword "That means an orc pack can't be very far behind."

"O-Orc pack?!" Brianna said in shock "Oh jeebers!"

"But what in Durin's name are they doing after us?!" Barbara demanded.

"You are being hunted." Gillian answered.

Everyone then looked around at one another as they gathered together in a circle, their bags packed. They'd never truly faced a warg pack before and they were in a tight spot. Ramona then began to wonder how they could have found them and then slowly reached the conclusion that she, in some way, was responsible for this mess.

"We've got to out of here." Daniella said.

"I'm right there with ya, let's scram!" Nadja piped up.

"We can't!" Ottilie yelped from behind them.

They all turned to see Ottilie and Gerlinde as they now entered the scene, catching their breath with clear worry on their faces and some black blood that resembled ink staining parts of their dresses.

"What happened?!" Beate asked.

"We have no ponies!" Ottilie said "They either bolted or worse!"

"This orc tried to ambush us." Gerlinde added "We made short work of 'em."

"That's just perfect!" Frieda groaned "No ponies! Orcs and wargs tailing us! Got any more good news?!"

"You must leave, all of you!" Ramona proclaimed unexpectedly "I'll distract them!"

Everyone's heads zipped towards Ramona with complete dumbfounded shock written all over their faces. Even Gillian seemed surprised. Ramona, however, had more than made up her mind and was already mounted in n her sleigh.

"But that's suicide!" Brianna yelped "Let someone else do it!"

"No it has to be me!" Ramona insisted.

"What do you mean, Ramona?" Gillian inquired.

"I...I think I'm the reason they're here. It's my scent." Ramona replied sternly "They must have tracked me from Dol Guldur. So now I have to fix this. Let me draw them off."

"But these are Gundabad wargs!" Gillian pointed out "They'll outrun you!"

"These are Rhosgobel rabbits!" Ramona said proudly "I'd like to see them try."

* **AUTHOR'S NOTE: Would you believe this took almost two months to write?**


	18. Worst Game of Hide and Seek Ever

The pack of orcs and wargs waited by the forest edge, hoping they're prey would reveal itself and with their various weapons drawn. The orcs rode upon only a few of the wargs while the rest acted on their own. The wargs were suddenly attracted to the sound of the forest plants moving and crashing as if something was trying to get out. They howled alerting the pack that they'd caught the scent again. They all scrambled towards the trees, waiting to pounce upon whatever was trying to get out of the forest. The wargs could feel the saliva dripping from their teeth and jaws and the orcs clenched their weapons, smirking sadistically.

So you can imagine their shock when Ramona exploded out from the forest foliage on her rabbit sleigh, laughing mockingly with her rabbits running at top speed. For a few seconds, the orcs just looked on stunned as did their wargs, while Ramona turned around and smirked mischievously at them.

"Come and get me!" she laughed.

The orcs then suddenly realized their target was getting away and immediately set after Ramona with a vengeance, led by the warg packs matriarch who had scars all over her snout and face. Her rider was a massive seven foot tall orc with a club as long as he was tall that looked as if it was fashioned after a spine. This was Bolg. And he was not to be messed with.

"CUT OFF HER HEAD!" he roared.

But Ramona wasn't really running. She was doing what she said she would: she was the distraction. You see, just prior to her bursting out of the woods, the company successfully managed to find an alternate path out of the woods that lead out to the vast prairie beyond the forest which had large sets of rocks that provided the perfect cover. The girls were hiding behind one of these as they could hear Ramona exclaiming loudly with the wargs howls echoing behind her. Gillian looked to the girls who were all in a line behind her and mentally counted everyone from Traude downwards to make sure everyone was present and accounted for. Sure enough everyone was. The girls quietly whispered amongst each other, trying their best not to be heard.

"I can't believe she's leading them away for us." Brianna said.

"We could have taken them on." Daniella said proudly.

"Yeah, keep dreaming Daniella." Nadja responded "We had as much chance as a hamster against a rabid dog."

Gillian quickly shushed them and peeked from behind the rock. She saw as Ramona whipped by, laughing crazily while the orc/warg pack pursued her at top speed, trying their best to catch up with her rabbits. Now knowing that their pursuers were distracted, Gillian then gave a hand signal to the girls and they bolted towards what they hoped was safety as fast as they could. The girls had never run so fast in their lives. Bridget had trouble in particular as she had to carry all the food and cooking equipment and she was at the back of the group. Everything seemed to be going fine for the girls until they passed by four rocks which were stacked together side to side.

"Hurry now!" Gillian ordered "This way!"

When they cleared them and found an opening they stopped in their tracks and saw Ramona ride right across the field in the distance just barely within earshot and the Wargs were right on her tail. Beate turned white as a sheet and was shaking so much it was like there was earthquake going on underneath her feet.

"Okay, maybe not this way." Gillian whispered firmly.

"Go! Move!" Traude ordered as she turned around "This way!"

The girls then followed after Gillian and Traude and took a hard right and soon found themselves seeing more rocks. And just when they thought they were in the clear they heard the Wargs howling again. This time they stopped running the moment they heard the sounds and came to a stop at a rather large rock that was at least twenty feet tall and just as wide. They, however, stopped so quickly that Nadja, Ottilie and Dorothea were at the group front and Ottilie almost ran right past them and briefly came to the view where the Wargs would have seen her.

"Ottilie, no!" Dorothea exclaimed as she yanked her sister back just in time "Get back!"

Fortunately, the wargs were too distracted with following Ramona too notice so they wouldn't have seen Ottilie anyways. Once they were sure the wargs had passed, Gillian then motioned for them to go forward and head for another huge rock directly ahead of them which was rounder.

"Okay, head for that rock. Quickly now!" she barked.

So far so good. Ramona had successfully caught the wargs hadn't noticed them and neither had the Orcs.

Or so they thought.

By this point, both Ramona and the orc pack were starting to tire of this constant chasing. Every time the orcs tried to grab, slash and bite Brianna she turned sharply and they either tripped or slammed into a rock. It was the orcs and wargs shared thirst for blood that kept that pursuing but Ramona was fearful her rabbits couldn't take much more. Suddenly, one of the wargs smelled something and he ground to a strop much to the surprise of his rider, who was an orc with blue-colored skin. As the rest of the pack ran past the two and after Ramona, the wargs kept sniffing the air.

"What is it?" the orc asked.

"You smell that?" the warg asked in a very deep, commanding voice.

The orc then sniffed their air too and turned to where the large round rock was and saw the faint silhouettes of the company heading for it.

"Yeah." he said with a sadistic, fang-filled smile "Dwarves."

He then clicked his tongue and the warg ran at lightning speed towards it's prey. By now, the girls were just starting to duck behind the rock when Brianna noticed the one warg and it's orc rider heading straight for them. When she was sure the other girls were in hiding she squeezed in next to Brianna, Kamilla and Gillian.

"One of them smelled us." Brianna whispered "He's coming this way."

Beate gasped a sharp gasp, as very unpleasant memories of childhood return to her but Bertha quickly slammed her hand over Beate's mouth.

"Quiet!" Bertha said "They won't get you. Just stay quiet."

"Silence!" Barbara hissed.

The girls then shut up like clams and got on their knees to make extra sure they wouldn't be seen. The orc and warg meanwhile climbed to the top of the rock and both sniffed the air looking for the scent while the orc drew out his sword.

"Come on. I know you're here you little brats." the orc said as he drew his sword.

Traude then looked directly at Kamilla who had been aiming her bow and arrow waiting for Traude's signal.

 _Aim well._ Traude said with her eyes while nodding.

Kamilla nodded, took a deep breath and then with lightning fast reflexes ran into sight of the warg and fired an arrow directly at its shoulder. The warg roared in pain and the orc grabbed his trumpet but before he could blow it Kamilla fired another arrow and it hit the orc right under his left arm. He tugged the warg's fur so hard that they tumbled off the rock and landed with a thud right next to the girls, making loud noises as they did.

The injured Orc, now not only in pain but enraged, grabbed his sword and headed right for the girls.

"Get him!" Traude yelled.

And with that she drew her sword and Daniela joined in with her ax and Ophelia with her spear-ax. They soon tackled the orc and Traude stabbed him widely and Ophelia joined in whilst Daniela used her ax to finish off the warg.

Unfortunately, they had made one mistake: making loud noise.


	19. The Hidden Valley of Hiddeness

By this point, the orcs and wargs were now starting to get more crafty and were gaining on Ramona. She could tell that her bunnies weren't used to running for this long and this fast without rest. They were starting to tire and the wargs began to get closer. It looked to Ramona that this was the end. But then something happened she did not intend.

The noise the girls and their orc and warg victims were causing finally caught the attention of the pack, with Bolg doing some kind of vocalization and the wargs ground to a halt. They turned their attention to the distance to their right and while they couldn't see anything, they could hear the fighting from behind the rocks. Bolg sniffed the air and his warg steed likewise did the same. Soon, the orcs and wargs were all smelling the air. It then clicked in their brains that Ramona had led them on a wild goose chase and that she'd been covering for the girls.

"Change of plans, boys." Bolg said "It appears there's some new prey."

The orcs all laughed like sadists and the warg matriarch howled loudly with pack resuming their chase this time with new targets.

Ramona by now had finally had to stop but she could the wargs howling and saw them abandon their pursuit of her in the distance and go after the girls. She thought for a moment to go back and help but remembered that the girls had assured her they could take care of themselves and she should get herself out of there.

She sighed heavily. "Good luck girls." she said before promptly clicking her tongue at which point the rabbit resumed running.

As Daniela, Ophelia and Traude finally finished off the orc and warg (they had put up a considerable fight) the girls all heard the loud howling and Gillian peeked from behind the rock and sure enough she saw them in the distance coming towards them.

"Oh crap." she whispered to herself briefly "Everyone run!"

The girls then all followed after Gillian and made a bee-line for the part of the grassland with the trees. As they reached there, the flat land now gave away to small hills and the girls found themselves running up them which proved a challenge of Bridget but she was helped out by Barbara and Daniela. No sooner had they reached the top of one of the hills then Gerlinde gasped.

"There they are!" she said pointing towards their left.

Sure enough, some wargs had split off and were behind now not only behind them but also to their left. Brianna's face was now turning as white as Beate's and she looked around to see if they could find any shelter but other than the small trees there was nowhere to hide.

"This way!" Gillian yelled from their right "Quickly! Follow me and Traude!"

The girls then turned and followed after her. They had now found themselves in an empty patch of the plain surrounded by trees and behind them a group of large round rocks. It would have been very relaxing were it not for the fact that the Orc pack was closing in on them. Moving ever closer.

"There's more coming!" Kamilla screamed.

Traude looked all around. There were wargs all over the place and their roaring was growing ever louder. There was no place they could go.

"Kamilla, shoot them!" Traude ordered "Everyone stay together!"

Gillian then happened to turn around and look at the rocks but then she noticed something. It looked as if between one smaller rock and the larger rock there seemed to be a hole as she could see part of it peeking from under the rock. She then made a bee-line for the rock to be sure. Everyone else meanwhile started to huddle together with Kamilla and Frieda guarding the front with Traude at the center and the rest of the group behind them. The orcs and their wargs were closing in on them as the minutes past.

"We're surrounded!" Frieda yelled.

"I can see that!" Nadja yelled "No need to tell us!"

Kamilla meanwhile began firing arrows at the orcs, hitting one right in the shoulder. Whilst Ottilie armed her sling-shot.

"Any advice, Gillian?!" Barbara said turning to where Gillian used to be "G-Gillian? Where's Gillian?!"

Everyone then started looking around for Gillian. But she was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Gillian?!" Gerlinde yelled.

"She's abandoned us!" Daniela replied.

"Great job keeping up spirits, Daniela!" Bridget yelled.

Ottilie in the meantime aimed her sling-shot at Bolg as he emerged from a hillslope and fired. The little stone flew towards him and his warg, only for it bounce off the wargs skull. This did leave Ottilie the chance to really get a good look at the monstrous orc and she didn't like what she saw. His armour was sewn together via the bones of his various victims including what seemed to be someone's ribcage and he wore a half-destroyed helmet on his head. And just to top all of it off, it seemed like he had someone's hair tied round his neck. Poor Ottilie then backed up and got behind her sisters, who had their swords drawn. She'd seen more than she wanted to of Bolg.

"Hold your ground!" Traude barked as she drew her sword "We're not going down without a fight!"

The girls then grabbed their weapons and readied themselves. Brianna then looked to Bertha who was sitting up on the ground holding her ax, whilst Beate and Bridget were on either side of her. Beate then noticed her.

"If you're gonna use that sword, Brianna, now would be a good time." she said.

Brianna then moved her stick to her right hand and drew her sword with her left hand. She was just about as scared as everyone else.

And then Gillian popped up from the cave.

"Get over here!" she yelled "Time to get busy living or get busy dying!"

The girls immediately all turned around and gasped in surprise.

"Go! Quickly! All of you!" Traude yelled.

The girls then ran for the cave and one by one carefully slid into it. Bridget and Beate slid down with Bertha to make sure she wouldn't hurt herself, followed by Brianna, Barbara and Daniela.

One warg, however, got too over-confident and charged right at the dwarves.

"Traude!" Dorothea exclaimed.

Traude saw this and with lightning reflexes slashed the Warg in the throat before it could attack her. She then turned to Dorothea.

"I've got this! Go!" Traude ordered.

Dorothea nodded and then slid down the cave with Nadja, Ottilie, Ophelia and Gerlinde. Traude then looked for Kamilla and Frieda and found them side by side, with Kamilla still firing arrows.

"Girls!" Traude roared "Run!"

Frieda and Kamilla then turned and followed after their aunt. Traude stopped at the cave entrance and Kamilla and Frieda slid into the cave. Once she was sure everyone was safe, Traude slid and tumbled down the cave herself and landed at Gillian's feet.

"About time." Gillian said.

Suddenly, they heard a loud horn and then a loud kafuffle accompanied with the sound of swords clanging, arrows whizzing through the air and orc and wargs yelling and roaring. They heard a particularly louder screech and then an orc rolled down the hole and flopped right at the girl's feet. They wisely backed away and Gillian carefully tapped the body with her staff.

"It's dead." she said.

The girls then sighed with relief and then noticed the sounds died down as whomsoever was fighting up above rode off and soon there was nothing but the sound of the wind and some birds.

"What was that?" Brianna asked.

Traude then noticed the arrow and plucked it out of the orc's head and looked closely at it and then got a very disgusted look on her face.

"Elves." she said dryly.

She then threw the arrow down like it had something contagious on it. Gillian then sighed in annoyance.

"Oh good heavens, you're impossible." she said rolling her eyes "Daniela, go see where the tunnel leads."

"Fine." Daniela said before walking off.

Brianna, meanwhile then sat down next to Bertha, Beate, Bridget and Dorothea.

"Well, that was fun." she said sarcastically.

"Yeah, if you consider running for your life and having every hair on the back of your neck stand on end fun." Bridget responded dryly.

"You're just complaining because you had to carry all the cooking equipment." Dorothea said.

"Well, you have to admit it was rather frightening." Beate added.

"Fair enough." Dorothea replied.

Just then Daniela came back and leaned against the wall to catch her breath.

"I can't see where the tunnel leads." she panted "Do you we follow it?"

"Follow it, of course!" Barbara replied.

"Well then, let's not waste time." Gillian said.

And with that the girls began their way through the tunnel. As the group weaved their way through the tunnel, it gave way to a cave and then after a few more hours the cave emptied about into what looked to them like a small canyon.

"Where on earth are we going?" Bridget whined.

"You'll see." Gillian said "We'll be there soon enough. We're on the right track."

"Oh deep joy." Nadja said sarcastically.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of walking they finally saw the canyon exit and soon crossed through a medium-sized cave and then when they walked out the exit where blinded briefly by sunlight. They groaned from the brightness and then rubbed their eyes as they began to adjust.

"Ah, here we are, girls." Gillian said.

When the girls eyes adjusted they gasped in surprise.

They discovered they were on the edge of a cliff and found themselves looking upon a beautiful valley with forests and waterfalls all around. Birds sang and tweeted all over the forests. What caught their eye the most was that at the center of this valley was a city that seemed to glow and also looked to be built into the nearby mountains. In the distance they could see a bridge leading into the city.

"The last homely house east of the sea." Gillian said "The Elven city of Rivendell. Come on, if we're lucky Lady Edyta will be home."

She then turned to Brianna who looked absolutely mesmerized by the view. She then looked to Gillian and chuckled softly.

"It's amazing." she said.

"Yes, indeed." Gillian replied "Unless of course Traude wants to go somewhere else."

Everyone then looked to Traude who sighed a very tired sigh. It seemed life was preventing her from going anywhere else.

"This will be fine." she said.

"Well then, let's go." Gillian said.

As the group began to make their way down the pathway leading to Rivendell, Traude ran up to Gillian with a look of distaste on her face.

"I thought I told you I won't go near here." she hissed.

"You have no enemies here, Traude Oakenshield." Gillian whispered "The only ill will to be found here is that which you bring here yourself. Besides we have questions that need to be answered. This will require a great deal of respect and no small degree of charm. Which is why I'll do the talking."

"Alright then." Traude mumbled "But if things get hostile we're leaving."

"Yes, yes, of course." Gillian said while she tried to ignore Traude's complaining.

The sun was beginning to set by the time girls crossed the stone bridge and entered into Rivendell. As they entered they passed through two ten foot tall statues of Elf guards that were made of solid stone and concrete. Brianna marveled as she looked all around. She'd never seen any place this beautiful and she couldn't help but smile the entire time. Even Beate was in awe and before having even crossed the bridge, she was sketching like mad, trying to get as much detail into her drawing as possible.

At the top of a staircase, two Elf guards stood in the same way the statues, only these guards were real. After a bit, a beautiful Elf maiden wearing an elaborate, long gown walked past two guards and down the stairs towards them. She had bright blue eyes and orange-red hair. Unlike the girls gowns, the Elf maiden's gown stretched all the way to her feet and the back of her dress was like a cape that dragged behind her.

"My lady Gillian!" said she.

Gillian turned and laughed and the two shook hands along with a half-hug of sorts.

"Lily." she said "You look well."

"We were just preparing for the evening." Lily said "We heard you had crossed into the valley."

"Gillian!" called out a voice.

The two of them turned to see two Elvish women coming down the stairs. They both had very fair faces and their dark hair, unlike Lily's, was tucked in buns. One wore a dark purple dress that stretched to her feet and the other had a similar gown but here's was bright blue with elements of white on it.

They then reached the bottom of the airs and the one in purple hugged Gillian as if she hadn't seen her in years. Neither this woman nor her sister had, in fact, seen Gillian in many, many years.

"Whoa, girls!" Gillian said as the woman broke the hug and her sister in blue then hugged Gillian "Calm down! I'm happy to see you too."

"We didn't know you were coming!" the one in blue laughed as she broke the hug "We would have saved you a seat!"

"For goodness sakes, dear sister!" the one in purple said "Let the poor woman breathe! She only just got here."

"It's quite, alright girls." Gillian said before turning to Lily "Now to business. I must speak with Lady Edyta."

"I'm sorry but Lady Edyta is not at home at the moment." Lily replied.

"Not here?" Gillian said with a shocked look on her face "Where is she?"

"She's with our brother at the moment." the woman in purple said.

"But she'll be along!" the one in blue piped up.

Suddenly the group heard the same horn they heard earlier and they all turned around to see a group of Elves arriving on horseback and they began crossing the bridge.

"Oh, there's mother now!" the woman in blue said.

"Close ranks, stay together!" Traude ordered.

Daniela then grabbed Brianna and dragged her into the center and whilst the other dwarves surrounded them and they all huddled together like penguins. And as soon as they did so in came Edyta on a black horse. She was not quite as lovely as her daughters but was nonetheless lovely in her own way with bright blue eyes and had dark, raven hair was gleamed in the setting sun. She was wearing a purple cape and silver armor and she had on a bright jeweled tiara.

She was followed by a man with brown hair and blue eyes and was wearing similar attire to his mother and behind him and her followed at least eleven Elvish warriors each carrying banners that fluttered in the breeze. The horses then came to a stop forming a circle around the company and Edyta's horse came to a stop where Gillian was and her son was just across from her. He got off his horse first and was embraced by his two overjoyed sisters.

"Gillian, it's so good to see you again, my friend." Edyta said in a somewhat gruff but motherly voice with a soothing accent.

"Lady Edyta." Gillian said bowing "Where were you exactly?"

"We've been hunting a pack of orcs that came up from the South." Edyta said as she dismounted.

"We slew them at the Hidden Path." her son said.

"That's where we were." Kamilla whispered to her sister.

"Yeah we know, captain obvious." Nadja hissed before Dorothea elbowed her in the side to shut up.

Edyta chuckled softly and embraced Gillian like the old friend she was. Her servants and soldiers meanwhile took the horses back to the stables.

"Seems strange that orcs come so close to our borders." Edyta said handing her sword to Lily "Must have been chasing something, I presume?"

"That was us I'm afraid." Gillian said "A complete accident."

"So...who is this exactly, Gillian?" Brianna pipes up.

Edyta noticed the company who all had very confused looks on their faces and she smiled.

"Oh, where are my manners?" said she "Welcome dwarf maidens." she then motioned toward her children "These are my daughters Estera and Elizaveta and my son Alfonso."

Even though they didn't really like elves, the dwarves nonetheless decided to be respectful and curtsied while Brianna did the same and added a wave for good measure. Alfonso briefly waved back to be nice, which caused Brianna to blush like a schoolgirl but she decided to think nothing of it.

"I don't believe we've met." Traude said.

"I knew your grandfather and your parents when your grandfather ruled under the mountain." Edyta responded.

"Funny..." Traude replied "...he made no mention of you."

There was a bit of an awkward silence for a few moments coupled with someone coughing in the background before Edyta turned to Gillian and whispered something in Elvish.

"What is she saying?!" Gerlinde suddenly demanded "Does she insult us?!"

"I should say not!" Elizaveta exclaimed in shock.

"Elizaveta's right, Gerlinde." Gillian said "She doesn't offer you insult at all. She's offering you food."

The girls moods all suddenly changed, especially Bridget whose stomach started growling. The girls hadn't eaten anything almost the entire day and they were starving. Everyone huddled together and murmured amongst themselves, leading to another bit of awkward silence but thankfully it didn't last long as they turned to face the Elves.

"Well, in that case, lead on." Gerlinde said.


	20. Guess Whose Coming to the Elven Dinner

Dinner was accompanied with soft music played by two harpists (a male elf and a female elf) and another elf maiden playing the flute. The dwarves sat at the dinner table but they weren't eating any of the dinner say for the bread. Because most of the food was vegetarian food. Ottilie especially was baffled by this and just stared at the lettuce.

"Come on, sweetie." Dorothea insisted "Just a mouthful."

"I don't like green food." Ottilie said putting down the lettuce.

Daniela was just as equally flummoxed. She lifted up her food to see if there was anything other than plants or vegetables at the bottom of the bowl. Nope. Nothing. She groaned and slammed the food back into the bowl.

"Where's the meat?" Daniela demanded.

"Hey, Bertha, can you ask them if they got any chips?" Ottilie inquired.

"I don't think they do." Bertha responded.

"I mean, who eats food without any meat?!" Daniela rambled on "Who Does that?!"

"It's just what they like to eat." Frieda said. "I can't fault them for that."

"Shows how much you know." Daniela said "In fact, I-"

She suddenly then noticed something about Kamilla. She was smirking. Daniela then turned around and looked at what Kamilla was looking at. She was eyeing the male harpist and he had caught notice. She then raised her eyebrows and winked. By this point, Frieda and Bertha had noticed too. Daniela then glared at Kamilla and cleared her throat.

"W-What?" Kamilla asked in surprise.

"Why do you do that?" Daniela asked.

"D-Do what?" Kamilla asked.

"Staring at the elf men." Daniela said "Why do you do that?"

"I don't know, I just find them interesting, you know?" Kamilla replied "Besides I can't say I'd ever marry one."

"Oh really?" Bertha asked, clearly amused by this.

"Yeah." Kamilla said "They have no beards. Not enough facial hair for me."

Dorothea sighed from across the table. "Kamilla dear, nobody wants to hear about your love life."

"At least I have a love life." Kamilla responded.

"I'm sorry but…" Daniela said trying to hold back laughter "That's a girl."

Dorothea's eyes then grew as big as dinner plates and unable to contain their laughter, the girls burst out laughing. Dorothea then slinked back into her chair and attempted hide her embarrassment. Just then Lily walked by with another bottle of wine.

"Excuse me." Dorothea said.

"Yes, dwarf?" Lily asked "Can I get you some wine?"

"Sure." Dorothea replied as she grabbed the bottle off the tray "Gimme the whole damn thing."

She then popped the cork off and then much to Lily's shock, began chugging down the wine straight from the bottle. Ottilie just sat there, distracting herself by drawing again and writing in her journal.

Well, it's nice to know this is more awkward than last December's family dinner. she thought.

Meanwhile, Brianna was sitting next to Barbara who was sitting next to Traude who was sitting next to Edyta's daughters Elizaveta and Estera who were next to their mother. On Edyta's right side sat her son Alfonso and next to him sat Gillian. Currently, Edyta was examining Traude's sword.

"This is Orcrist." Edyta said "The Goblin Cleaver. A famous blade. Forged by the High Elves of the West. Our kin."

"Lucky girl." Estera said.

"May it serve you well." Edyta continued handing the sword back to Traude.

"Mother, aren't you going to look at Gillian's sword?" Alfonso asked.

"Ah yes, thank you son." Edyta said.

She then took Gillian's sword and drew it carefully. She gasped in marvel.

"My goodness. Gillian, my friend, you have quite a sword indeed." she said "This is Glamdring. The Foe-Hammer. It was forged for the king of King of Gondolin."

"Let me guess, he was an elf?" Brianna asked.

Edyta and her daughters turned to look at Brianna in surprise.

"Obviously, silly." Estera said laughing.

As Edyta rambled on about the sword and her daughter's turned their attention back to dinner, Brianna then looked at her own sword. She wondered what value hers might have. She then partially drew it and was just about to show Edyta when Barbara took notice.

"I wouldn't try, lass." Barbara said putting her hand on Brianna's shoulder "Swords are remembered for the great deeds they do in war."

"What are you saying?" Brianna inquired "My sword hasn't seen battle?"

"I'm not actually sure it is a sword, dear Brianna." Barbara responded shaking her head "It's more of a letter opener, really."

Brianna sighed in disappointment and sheathed her sword and took a bite of her bread. Edyta, meanwhile, had given Gillian back Glamdring.

"Where'd you get these?" she asked.

"We found them in a troll cave on the great east road." Gillian replied "Shortly before we were ambushed by a pack of orcs and their wargs."

"And what were you doing on the great east road?" Alfonso piped up after being silent for the majority of dinner.

"That's none of your business." Traude said "Now if you'll excuse me."

She then got up, went to a nearby pillar and leaned against it and stared at the valley surrounding them. Meanwhile, Edyta and Gillian continued their lengthy conversation.

"A group of dwarf women and a half-ling." Edyta said "Strange traveling companions, Gillian."

"These girls are the descendants of the house of Durin!" Gillian said "They're surprisingly cultured. And they've got the deep love of the arts."

"Is that true?" Alfonso asked leaning towards Nadja.

Nadja had been busy eyeing a pepper shaker nearby (taking a break briefly to laugh at Kamilla's rebuttal to Dorothea) and she was just about to grab it when Alfonso spoke up. She then looked towards him with lightning fast reflexes.

"W-What?" she asked.

"Do you have a deep love of the arts?" Alfonso inquired.

"Oh yeah, sure, whatever kid." Nadja said turning her attention back to the pepper shaker.

Alfonso rolled his eyes and took a bite out of his dinner. When Nadja was sure nobody was looking, she snatched the pepper shaker and hid it in her dress.

The music had been playing the entire time and the poor girls felt like it would never end. Finally, poor Nadja had enough of it.

"Oh goodness gracious change the tune!" she exclaimed in annoyance "I feel like I'm at my grandmother's funeral!"

Ophelia gasped in surprise. "Did somebody die?"

"Alright girls." Bertha said "There's only one thing for it!"

Without warning, Bertha then carefully climbed onto the table and then cleared her throat and began to sing:

There is an inn, a merry old inn beneath an old grey hill,

And there they brew a beer so brown

That the Man in the Moon himself came down

One night to drink his fill.

About halfway through the first verse the other girls joined in and began singing along and tapping their feet and clinking the forks and knives together. Edyta and her family were quite baffled by this to say the least. And so the song continued:

The ostler has a tipsy cat that plays a five-stringed fiddle;

And up and down he runs his bow,

Now squeaking high, now purring low,

During Bertha's brief pause to let the girls laugh, Brianna couldn't help but chuckle because it reminded her of the song the girls had sung at her house when they cleaned up after themselves. Bertha then took a deep breath and wrapped up the song:

 _So the cat on his fiddle played hey-diddle-diddle,_

 _a jig that would wake the dead:_

 _He squeaked and sawed and quickened the tune,_

 _While the landlord shook the Man in the Moon:_

 _'It's after three!' he said._

Immediately after finishing that verse, Bertha slipped and fall flat on the table and the girls burst out laughing and began throwing their food about and although her back hurt, Bertha ended up laughing too. Even Traude joined in the fun. Kamilla took the opportunity to toss some cakes directly at Lily only they missed and smacked the statue right next to her. She then gave Edyta a very concerned look.

"My lady…" she said "…how soon can they leave?"


	21. Map Reading for Dummies

That night, the moon shone brightly and it's light slipped through the curtains and windows and cast shadows inside Edyta's magnificent chambers. Her room was filled with beautiful white curtains and desks loaded with papers and maps and her chamber opened up to a balcony with a full view of the valley. Everything was finely carved and the light of the moon helped everyone see better and gave the room a gorgeous blue lighting.

Edyta as currently in the room with Gillian, Traude, Barbara and Brianna. The discussion on the other hand wasn't going that well.

"How do I know I can trust her?" Traude demanded.

"Goodness, Traude." Gillian said exhausted "For once in your life will you just listen to reason? You are standing in the presence of one of the few in Middle-Earth who can read that map. Now, show Lady Edyta the map, please."

Traude sighed in defeat and then brought out the map, unfolded it and looked at it. She then nervously handed it to Edyta who gracefully took it and observed it.

"Gillian, why are you interested in Erebor?" she asked.

"It's mainly academic." Gillian responded "As you know, these sort of maps contain hidden texts. You can still read ancient dwarvish right?"

"Of course I do." Edyta said.

She then glanced to the maps bottom and noticed something. A particular set of sentences Gillian had missed were just at the bottom right near where a tear was. She then read it aloud in dwarvish and Gillian got a surprised look on her face.

"Moon runes." she said before turning to look at the other three girls "And easy thing to miss."

"Really?" Brianna asked.

"Yeah, it happens." Gillian responded.

"Well, in your case this is true." Edyta replied "Moon runes can only read by the light of the moon of the same shape and season as the day they were written."

"Why?" Brianna asked "This sounds rather absurd."

"I didn't write these moon runes, young lady." Edyta said "Dwarves did."

"Can you read them?" Traude demanded.

"Of course." Edyta said "But not here."

"Well, then where?" Barbara inquired.

Edyta chuckled softly and looked towards the room exit and then back to her friends.

"I'll show you." she said.

Edyta led Gillian, Traude, Brianna and Barbara to a secluded part of Rivendell. It was a ledge which right at the end of it had a huge square crystal block. Waterfalls rushed just feet away from the edge of the ledge and created a soft mist around them. Edyta then put the map on the crystal block and put her hands on each other the maps edges to make sure it wouldn't blow away.

"What exactly are you doing?" Brianna asked.

"Well, miss Brianna, allow me to explain." Edyta said "These runes were written on a midsummer's eve by the light of a crescent moon nearly 200 years ago."

"Really?" Brianna inquired.

"Oh yes." Edyta responded "It would seem you and your friends were meant to come to Rivendell." she then turned to Traude "Fate is with you, Lady Oakenshield. That same moon shines on us tonight."

When she said that, the clouds moved back and the moon shone brightly and it hit the crystal block. The crystal block then began to shine like a newly discovered diamond. Everyone then looked at the map and noticed that on the lower left corner of the map, glowing blue words appeared. It was in dwarfish so Brianna couldn't read it.

"What does it say?" she asked.

"It says: 'Stand by the grey stone when the thrush knocks.'" Edyta replied "'And the last light of Durin's Day while shine upon the keyhole.'"

"Well, what's Durin's Day?" Brianna inquired.

Edyta sighed and looked towards Gillian with a look of boredom.

"She's just full of questions, isn't she?" she asked.

Gillian chuckled. "Yes she is rather curious."

"Brianna, Durin's Day is the start of our New Year." Traude replied "But I don't think we'll be able to make it. Summer's fading. Autumn is coming."

"Traude, we still have time." Barbara said "But remember, we have to be standing at exactly the right place at exactly the right time. Then, and only then, can we get inside."

"So that's your intention." Edyta said looking directly at Traude "To enter the mountain."

Traude raised an eyebrow. She felt this elf was asking too many questions.

"What is it to you?" Traude demanded.

"There are some who would not deem it wise." Edyta said.

"Trust me, my friend." Gillian responded "The girls have their reasons."

Brianna yawned and shook her head, much to everyone's surprise.

"You alright, lass?" Barbara inquired.

"I'm terribly sorry. But I'm going to bed." she said.

"Well, then you shouldn't be up so late." Edyta added as Brianna yawned again "I think it's time for you to...hit the sack as the common people say."

"Indeed." Gillian replied "Can't have our burglar in poor health can we?"

And with that Brianna walked up the staircase with Traude having grabbed the map and following along with Barbara as they tried to contain their laughter with Gillian and Edyta behind.

"Please don't say hit the sack, Edyta." Gillian whispered "It doesn't suit you."


	22. Afternoon in Rivendell

The next morning, Brianna got up bright and early so she could travel around Rivendell and observe it. She couldn't stop smiling. Rivendell was undoubtedly the most magnificent place she'd ever seen. She was climbing up a staircase towards a balcony she hadn't been in yet, taking time to look around at the gardens surrounding her and the architecture of the place. When she reached the top of the staircase, she found herself in a huge room.

She took particular notice of a statute whose hands were held out like a waiter holding a tray. Except it wasn't a tray it was holding but rather a large cloth. In that cloth was a sword which was broken in half with two shards right beside it. Brianna gasped in surprise at this but then as she walked towards it she just happened to turn to her right and then stopped dead in her tracks.

Right in front of her was a massive painting which depicted what seemed to be a prince defending his father the king against a truly menacing figure wearing spiked armor and wielding a huge weapon which looked like a mace and, most strikingly, a bright yellow ring. Behind the figures was a waving lavender flag with a white tree on it. Brianna marveled at it but at the same time it felt strange. The painting was giving a very eerie and creepy atmosphere in the room. She then decided to go to the balcony and take a breath of fresh air. The early morning breeze flowed through the air and she took it all in with a deep breath and then she let out a very satisfied sigh. Just then, Edyta joined her on the balcony and stood right beside her.

"Good morning." She said.

"Oh!" Brianna exclaimed "Good morning to you too."

"Enjoying the view?" Edyta inquired.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I am." Brianna responded "You have an amazing house."

Edyta chuckled softly. "Thank you." She then turned to look at Brianna "My daughters have taken a liking to you."

"I know." Brianna said "Are they always like that? You know, eager to make friends? Or are they more like you?"

Edyta sighed and looked out over the horizon. She'd never thought about that. Mostly because no one had ever asked her that question before.

"My daughters take after their father." she finally said "But I have a question for you."

"Sure, what?" Brianna asked.

"I've never known hobbits to really be adventurers." Edyta said turning to look at Brianna "If you could, would you have stayed at home?"

Brianna thought about this sudden question. She hadn't really thought about but even if she had, she'd expected a question like that to come from Gillian. She then sighed and looked out over the horizon.

"I honestly don't know." she finally said.

"Well, you're welcome to stay here if that's what you wish." Edyta said.

And with that she walked off leaving Brianna alone with her thoughts. In truth, Rivendell was one of the most relaxing places she'd ever been in but even then, she still missed her home. She missed her lounge room where she'd relax and drink tea. She missed her flower garden. She missed feeling the dirt of the Shire between her toes. She even missed that glory box that in hindsight really did ruin the feng shui of the hallway. It wouldn't be the last time she thought of home either.

As Brianna continued remembering her home, Edyta had decided to take a walk with her children in order to relax herself and take her mind off her guests. Unfortunately, her children were busy discussing the guests and Edyta felt rather aggravated. It seemed she couldn't get any time alone with her children.

"I don't know why you have to be so negative about our guests." Elizaveta protested "They all seem very nice."

"Did you see what they did at dinner yesterday?" Estera responded "They threw all our food about! They stained my dress and I don't even want to tell you the state of the wine cellar. When the servants told me, I thought they were exaggerating."

"Mother, I don't usually agree with Estera but she might have a point." Alfonso piped up "They are rather messy."

"I'm aware of that son." Edyta said "But they're still our guests. And while they're here, we will respect them." she then turned to Estera "That's mean you too."

"Yes, mother." Estera said.

"My lady!" said a voice.

The four then saw Lily running towards them soaking wet with her hair dangling in front of her face. She then stopped right in front of them to catch her breath.

"What's the matter, Lily?" Edyta asked.

"I-I'm so sorry, my lady." Lily panted "I t-t-tried to stop them."

"Calm down." Alfonso said "Speak clearly."

Lily sighed annoyingly and then motioned for them to follow her. They followed Lily towards the fountain. She then stopped and pointed towards the fountain. Edyta, Estera, Elizaveta and Alfonso then looked to where she was pointing and gasped.

The once peaceful fountain now was filled with dwarf women. The girls had decided to use the fountain as a pool as well as a way to have a bath. Their logic wasn't entirely unfounded though as the fountain was large enough to be considered a medium-sized pool. And sure enough, the girls had taken full advantage of this, either swimming in the closest thing they had to bathing suits or sunbathing.

But Edyta and her family weren't too pleased with this. They looked to Lily who raised an eyebrow at them. Edyta then looked at her children who looked at her along with Lily, all wearing questioning looks on their faces.

"Alright, alright." Edyta sighed while rolling her eyes "I'll talk to Gillian."

And the rather profanity-laced argument that ensued when Bridget splashed a sunbathing Nadja seemed to only further validate Edyta and her children's annoyance.


	23. Morning Ruminations

The day was for the most part uneventful after the girls swam in the fountain and they spent the evening and night singing songs. Then when it came time for bed, everyone slept like bears in hibernation. Traude had made sure to tell everyone that they'd have to get up super early if they wanted to get to the Misty Mountains and get as much ground covered as possible.

And sure enough at around 6:30 everyone was up, albeit begrudgingly and packing everything they needed, with the sky just starting to brighten though the sun still hadn't risen yet. Nadja made extra sure she'd packed everything as she'd found some lovely items to take with her from Rivendell. Brianna meanwhile was walking up the staircase nearby, walking stick in hand. She'd already packed her things and had her back-pack and knapsack strapped on. She then saw Traude who was looking out over the horizon. Brianna then walked up next to her.

"What are you doing here?" Brianna asked.

Traude yawned. "Just enjoying the view before we head out."

They then heard faint voices growing slightly louder and they looked down to see Gillian and Edyta walking on a pathway and discussing with each other. Though they were at the bottom of the staircase, Brianna and Traude could hear them clearly since they're discussion was a bit loud.

"Listen, Gillian." Edyta said "My children may be right in this case. I don't think going to that mountain is a good idea."

"But what if they succeed?" Gillian asked "If they do, then our defenses in the east will be strengthened."

"I understand." Edyta said. "But it's not just the dragon I fear."

"But it's Traude's birthright!" Gillian protested "You can't that away from her. What is it you fear?"

"Have you forgotten?!" Edyta responded "A strain of greed and bad luck lies in that family. Her grandfather had it in him and her father succumbed to the same fate. What makes you think she won't do the same?"

"She's neither of them." Gillian replied "I trust her."

Brianna felt awkward having her and Traude overhear a conversation like that. She was surprised to her Traude sigh a heavy sigh and looked to her as she rubbed her forehead.

"Are you okay?" Brianna inquired.

"Yeah." Traude replied as she put her hands back on the balcony "I'm just tired."

Brianna turned and looked back at the beautiful scenery around her, with the light of the dawn now growing as the sun rose, turning the sky a mix of blue and pink. After being quiet for a few moments, Traude then looked to Brianna who seemed to be deep in thought.

"I haven't bothered what people think." she said "Especially not Elves."

Brianna turned to look at Traude and smiled.

"It must feel so strange." she said "You and your sister being the heirs to a throne under a mountain occupied by a dragon."

"At times it does feel odd." Traude replied "I see my nieces told you about Dis."

Brianna nodded. "Is she a fighter like you?"

"No actually." Traude continued "She's a lot like you."

"Really?" Brianna asked.

"Yes." Traude went on smiling "She likes to stay at home and read books. Though she has gone trading a few times."

"I've been wondering…" Brianna said hesitantly "…where is your mother?"

Traude looked away from Brianna and down at her feet while Brianna still looked towards Traude waiting for an answer.

"She died." Traude finally said.

"Orcs?" Brianna inquired.

"Giving birth to me and Dis." Traude replied "My father ended up raising us along with my brother."

"I didn't know that you had a brother either." Brianna said.

"There's a lot of things you don't know about me." Traude responded turning back to Brianna.

She then yawned again and shook her head in irritation.

"Well, I'm going to pack up." she said as she turned around "You coming?"

"Yeah, in a few minutes." Brianna replied.

Traude smiled and then headed off to where everyone else was. Brianna stayed on the balcony for about two minutes, pondering everything that had happened to her over the past weeks. In such short time, Gillian, Traude and the rest of the company had whisked her away from her comfy, warm home and taken her through the wilderness, barely avoided getting caught by orcs and now were in the Elven city of Rivendell. Brianna wondered what her late mother would think of all this.

 _She'd probably say I'm making a fool of myself._ she thought.

Then again, she had been having some excitement on this and had enjoyed it. Bertha, Barbara and Beate had proven to be the most easy to get along with but she was having trouble with everyone else, mostly because they'd been pre-occupied with this entire quest. And Traude seemed to always look down on her. She'd only been able to talk to Traude once or twice and having just finished one more talk with her, she wondered if they could be friends.

After yawning one more time, Brianna shook her head to clear her senses and joined the others as they continued packing everything up while Gillian and Edyta continued discussing the matter of the quest.

"With or without our help, the dwarves will march on the mountain." Gillian went on "And I don't think Traude feels she needs to answer to you. Neither do I, quite frankly."

"It's not me you must answer to." Edyta said.

"Indeed." said a voice.

Gillian and Edyta turned and looked and they saw that sitting in a chair at a small, round table. He was an elf with blonde hair and piercing blue eyes and he spoke in a smooth, sophisticated accent.

"Lord Gerwazy." Gillian said as she curtsied (which at her age was pretty impressive) "It's been a long time."

"Yes it has, old friend." Gerwazy said.

"I had no idea that Lady Edyta had summoned you." Gillian continued.

"He didn't." said a woman's voice in a slightly deep accent "I did."

Just then, a great horned owl swooped in, causing Gillian to duck as it flew towards it's master, landing on it's masters staff which was jet black with a chalk white crystal ball. The owl's master was a woman who looked almost in her late 50's but had chalk white hair which was shoulder length. Her skin also was noticeably paler than Gillian's and she wore a long, white gown with a cape that was almost just as long. This was Lady Severine the White, the leader of the White Council that consisted of herself, Gillian, Gerwazy and Edyta.

"You've been busy of late, haven't you Gillian?" she said.

"Lady Severine." Gillian replied as she simply bowed in respect.


	24. White Council in the Morning

Gillian rubbed her forehead in order to clear her mind. She'd been up pretty much the entire night and felt exhausted. Not exactly the right-frame of mind to be having a meeting. Severine thought otherwise.

"Tell me, Gillian." she said sternly as she fed her owl who was perched on her shoulder "Did you honestly think these mad schemes of yours would go unnoticed?"

Gillian sighed and put her hands on the arms of the chair.

"Is helping these dwarves so bad?" Gillian said "From what I understand these young women need my help."

"But the dragon has also long been on your mind." Gerwazy said.

Gerwazy was currently right behind Gillian leaning on a pillar whist Edyta was across from her just standing around listening in. Gillian turned around to look at Gerwazy. She had to face facts: elves had a tendency to be right about things.

"It's true." Gillian said as she turned back to Severine "A dragon alone is bad enough, but should Smaug were to ally himself with the enemy, there's no telling what he could do."

Severine chuckled in disbelief. "What enemy? Gillian, the enemy is defeated." she said "Sauron was vanquished long ago. He can never regain his full strength."

"She's right. We've had peace for 400 years. A hard won, watchful peace." Edyta said "Besides, Smaug has remained in that mountain sleeping on top of the dwarves treasure for sixty years."

"Alright, fair enough. And you're all probably right." Gillian responded "But even ignoring that, trolls have come down from the mountains. They're raiding villages and destroying farms. An orc pack attacked us on the road and we almost lost our lives in that attack!"

"Hardly a prelude to war." Edyta said.

"This is so like you." Severine said rubbing her forehead in boredom "Always you must meddle. Looking for trouble where none exist."

"Go on." Gerwazy piped up.

Severine sighed and motioned for Gillian to continue. Gillian put her hands on the table and cleared her throat.

"There's something greater at work. Beyond the evil of Smaug." she replied sternly "Something far more powerful. We can remain blind to it but it will not be ignoring us. A sickness lies over the green wood. The woodsmen who live nearby call it Mirkwood now. And…they say things."

"What things?" Severine demanded "Don't be vague."

"They speak of a Necromancer, living in Dol Guldur." Gillian responded "A sorcerer who can summon the dead."

"That's absurd." Severine said in disbelief "This Necromancer is nothing more than a mortal man dabbling in black magic."

"I thought so too." Gillian said "But Ramona told me herself that…"

"Ramona?" Severine asked "Do not speak to me of Ramona the Brown. She's a foolish woman."

"She's odd, I grant you." Gillian said awkwardly "But just because she lives with animals-"

"No it's not that." Severine said cutting Gillian off "That's just her thing. No, it's her obsessive consumption of mushrooms. They addled her brain and yellowed her teeth."

"Really now?" Gillian asked sarcastically.

"Oh yes." Severine responded "I told her it wasn't healthy for her but she did not listen. And then next thing you know she's telling strange tales of apes that think and walk and talk for themselves."

"When the hell did she tell you that?" Edyta asked with sudden interest as she walked up to Severine.

"It's a long story." Severine said suddenly distracted "You see it was about a few years ago…"

Gillian sighed and rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair as Severine rambled on and on about her story. Gerwazy then walked towards Gillian and stood beside her. He then noticed something right next to Gillian.

"What's that?" he asked.

Gillian looked towards her right and noticed at the foot of the chair that the thing Ramona had given her was sticking out of her bag. She then realized something. This was the evidence she needed. She then carefully took the thing out with it wrapped in the cloth Ramona gave her with it and then she flopped it on the table.

Severine and Edyta immediately shut up and took notice and Edyta slowly walked towards it. Severine's owl then walked off her shoulder and onto her staff which leaned against the chair.

"W-What is that?" she said nervously.

"A relic from Mordor." Gerwazy replied looking very uncomfortable.

Edyta then carefully unfolded the cloth as if the thing would explode any second. Finally the object was unveiled, which was inadvertently coupled with Severine's owl screeching briefly. It was a sword. But it's handle was jet black and the blade was sharp and cracked. Edyta then backed away as if she'd touched something infected with a disease. Even Severine was surprised.

"A Morgul blade." Edyta said in shock.

"Made for the Witch King of Angmar." Gerwazy said "And…buried with him."

Gerwazy said that last part of the sentence with a twinge of fear in his voice. He then looked to Edyta and Severine with plain fear on his face. Edyta soon began to feel the same fear Gerwazy was feeling. Just to add to the uneasy atmosphere, a gust of wind blew through and it felt like ice to the four.

"This is not possible." Edyta said "A powerful spell lies upon those doors. How in the hell did anyone get inside?"

"Now, calm down." Severine finally said calmly "What proof do we have that this came from Angmar's tomb?"

"I have none other than this blade." Gillian said.

"Because there is none." Severine responded "Let us examine what we know and think for a moment, shall we? A single orc pack attacks you and now lies dead across a field. An ancient sword has been found and now a human sorcerer who calls himself the Necromancer is living in an old fortress. Not much there."

"But Ramona seemed to be telling the truth." Gillian insisted.

"I understand." Severine said "But the nature of the dwarves quest troubles me Gillian. I don't feel I can condone such a quest. If they'd come to me I would have spared them all this trouble-"

"My lady Edyta!" cried out a familiar voice.

Edyta sighed with annoyance and everyone turned to Lily run up the staircase and enter the balcony.

"What it is now, Lily?" Edyta asked.

"T-The dwarves." Lily panted "T-T-They've…gone."


	25. Dwarf Trekkin

The dwarves were now on the pathway to the Misty Mountains. They were venturing into territory dwarves hadn't gone in for years. Yet the girls felt ready for the risks. After all, the dragon was going to be a worst part of their quest as far as they were concerned. Traude and Barbara were in the lead with Kamilla and Frieda just behind them and followed by Daniela, Bridget, Bertha, Beate, Dorothea, Nadja, Ottilie, Gerlinde, Ophelia and with finally Brianna lagging behind.

"Barbara, you know these mountain paths. You lead the way." Traude ordered.

"Right." Barbara said "Come on, then, girls. Stick together."

In the back of the group, Brianna stopped for just a second and turned back to look at Rivendell. She felt as if she was leaving home all over again. She had no idea what else was in store for her or what dangers she would face. She didn't even know if she'd even get back home.

"Miss Baggins?" said a voice.

Brianna turned around to see Gerlinde who was looking was Brianna with a very perplexed look.

"Miss Baggins, do try to keep up." Gerlinde said before turning around and following after the others "Nobody likes a straggler."

Brianna sighed and then decided to follow after them. She had the feeling they were going to need her. And so they ventured into the wilderness on the borders of Rivendell. They passed through breezy, sloping hills lined with pine trees, with the smell of the pines filling the air. Soon the ground began to grow more rough and soon enough they found themselves at the Misty Mountains. The climb up the slopes was just as dangerous as taking the mountain passes, as they had to be careful for slippery rocks and dropoffs. They managed to make it up, however, and briefly stopped for a rest on one of the clearings near a ledge. Bridget had cooked hot-dogs and hash-browns for the group and while they were eating, Brianna was sitting by herself on a patch of mountain grass and observing the scenery. The mountains seemed just to go on forever. They stuck out like huge castles with puffy white clouds floating around them or obscuring them in some cases.

She then turned to her left and noticed Ottilie sitting down just a few feet away drawing something on a rather large sketch book. Brianna then walked up to Ottilie and sat down next to her.

"What are you doing?" Brianna asked.

"Just drawing." Ottilie replied turning to Brianna "My sister gave me this book."

"Which one?" Brianna asked.

Her and Ottilie then suddenly burst out laughing for no apparent reason. Brianna then wiped away from sweat from her brow and the two finally stopped laughing.

"No, seriously. Which sister gave you the book?" Brianna asked.

"It was Dorothea." Ottilie said "It was for my birthday. She noted my love for drawing."

"Really?" Brianna inquired.

"Yes." Ottilie replied as she took a bite of her hot dog "My daddy was a scribe. My mom says I share my dad's love of books. Do you have any books?"

"Oh yes, of course." Brianna responded "I have lots of books."

"I'll bet you really miss reading them right about now." Ottilie said as she returned to drawing.

Brianna hadn't realized it until now but she did miss sitting on her arm chair, calmly reading her books by the fire, dreaming for a suitor to ask her hand in marriage. She sighed with disappointment.

"Yes I do." she said softly.

"Ah, don't worry, kid." Ophelia replied as she walked in on the two "With any luck, you'll be home before you know it."

A little farther away, Frieda and Kamilla were discussing other things.

"I can't believe you kept flirting with those Elves!" Frieda exclaimed.

"I'm sorry." Kamilla said "But they were so handsome."

"I will admit they're very handsome." Frieda said "But I would advise you not to flirt with Elves again or else auntie will be very angry."

"I'll try." Kamilla replied, with a twinge of disappointment in her voice.

"Alright girls!" Traude called out suddenly "We have to start moving before we get caught up in a rainstorm. Barbara saw it on the horizon."

Brianna in the meantime looked at Ottilie who began to pack her things like everyone else.

"Don't worry, it'll probably just pass over us." Barbara said to Ottilie "It won't last long."

"You really think so?" Dorothea asked as she came over to help her sister pack her things.

"I know so." Barbara said.


	26. You Just Had to Sneeze Didn't You?

"I thought you said the rain would pass!" Ottilie exclaimed.

"Okay, well I'm allowed to be wrong!" Barbara grumbled.

The group had found themselves caught up in a mountain storm that had overtaken them faster than expected. They couldn't tell what time it was and even if they knew the sky was so shrouded in clouds that they couldn't tell how much time was passing. Their raincoats helped keep them slightly dry but some water managed to leak onto their dresses. And this was on an average storm in the Misty Mountains.

The girls were barely hanging on to the pathway without slipping and falling. Yet they went on, driven by the hope that the storm would stop soon. Barbara and Traude suddenly stopped and everyone screeched to a halt, while also trying to make sure they didn't drop their stuff.

"What is it?" Traude asked softly.

"From what I've heard this is an era prone to avalanches." Barbara responded "So please keep the noise down."

"Alright then. Be careful where you step." Traude told everyone else "We must find shelter."

Everyone nodded in agreement and then began to make their way as carefully as possible through the mountain pass, treating the pathway as if it was made of glass that could crack at any second. The rain seemed relentless and seemed to make their packs heavier, despite them being waterproof. The wind made the rain feel like ice (although the high altitude may have played a factor in that) and every lightning noise made them think that an avalanche would happen any second.

Suddenly the rock Brianna stepped on crumbled away and took part of the pathway with it and Brianna slipped and almost fell over, Dorothea and Nadja managed to grab her bag just in time and pull her to safety. She almost screamed but Nadja slapped her hand over her mouth to stop her screaming. Brianna felt as if her heart was in her throat and she was hyperventilating like mad.

"I-It can't…get…any worse right?" she panted.

"Huh?" Ophelia asked raising her ear piece.

"Oh stop fooling around!" Gerlinde hissed "You know what she said."

Everyone then shushed the two just as another lightning flash occurred followed by some rather loud thunder. That ultimately proved to be the girls biggest worry, whether or not the noise brought about by the storm would cause an avalanche. As they resumed walking and began to find a more open path, Brianna happened to stop to catch her breath but right as she placed her hands on a rock, an average sized tarantula spider emerged from it's hiding place for whatever reason and rubbed against Brianna's hand, flicking off some hairs from it's body. Brianna noticed it and tried her best not to scream but then her nose began feeling funny.

Oh crap she thought to herself Not a tarantula.

Brianna tried to cover her nose but the itch and agitation grew and grew until she was unable to hold it back and then with one loud ka-choo sneezed, causing everyone to stop dead in their tracks. Even though it was raining, the sneeze was so loud it echoed across the valley and the echo carried shockingly well. Everyone crossly glared at Brianna with fearsome looks on their faces, including Beate and Ottilie of all people. Brianna didn't have much of a response but just looked around and smiled awkwardly. All of a sudden there was a faint rumbling that began growing louder and louder and the ground began shaking as the girls quickly realized what was happening.

"AVALANCHE!" Traude yelled "RUN!"

They didn't need to be told twice as everyone began hightailing it towards the other side of the ledge pathway just as the rock avalanche started. The rain mixed with the mud and dirt, making very sticky mud that made it hard to run as fast as they wanted to and to make matters worse, the avalanche began causing the edge of the path to fall away, with the girls running out of space to run. During this, they also did their best to dodge falling rocks. The girls just barely made it to the other side when halfway there Bridget fell over when a rock hit her in the ankle and Kamilla tripped over her. Brianna turned around to help them up along with Bertha and Frieda when suddenly a bolt of lightning hit a part of the mountain, causing yet another rockslide. The remaining girls all scrambled towards the other side as quickly as they could as the falling rocks threatened to bury them and finally made it just as more of the pathway collapsed, sending Brianna tumbling over and almost over the side. She just barely managed to grab onto a tree root and ended up with her body dangling over the side and water drenching her face. All of the girls flew into a panic and rushed to her aid as the root began to slip away due to the mud flowing off the edge.

"Help!" Brianna barked "Help, I'm slipping!"

And for a moment, it looked like she would slip as the root finally broke away. But with amazing speed, Daniella grabbed onto Brianna via her knapsack and soon Daniella, Bridget, Barbara, Nadja, Frieda and Gerlinde formed a human chain and with all their might pulled her up, causing everyone to fall over and get soaked in rain and mud. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as they made sure they were all accounted for. Traude then ran over and practically football tackled Frieda and Kamilla, trying her best not to cry with relief that they were okay. They hugged her back while Brianna tried her best to get up and catch her breath as best she could, causing Traude to look at Brianna and her expression completely changed.

"Oh bloody ruddy hell." she panted.

Suddenly, Traude walked up and punched her in the face, injuring Brianna's nose.

"You bloody moron!" Traude snarled.

She then punched Brianna again, this time so hard that the hobbit actually collapsed onto the ground, covering her nose while groaning in irritation. Everyone was shocked by this and Traude stood there and continued to glare at Brianna angrily, who in turn looked up at her, revealing that blood and snot was practically flowing out her nose.

"What the hell was that for?!" she demanded.

"Are you kidding me?!" Traude roared.

"Traude go easy on her!" Barbara said "We almost lost her in that rockslide!"

"She's been lost ever since she left home. She nearly got all of us killed." Traude said as she calmed down "If she misses her home so much, she should just go back to her little hobbit hole. She has no place amongst us."

Brianna hadn't expected Traude to say that. She also didn't expect it to hurt so much. She then looked down towards the ground and didn't notice the tear coming down her face and she just assumed it was a raindrop. Either that or it was the blood from her nose.

Just then, Dorothea (who had briefly left the group to go check the rest of the path) came by looking very excited.

"I've found a cave just ahead." she said as she noticed Brianna's nose "Oh dear what happened to your nose?"

"It's a long story, lass." Barbara said "You better tend to her before she bleeds out."

"Hurry up." Traude responded "We'll take shelter in the cave until this lousy rain let's up."


	27. Let the Dwarves Hit the Floor

Much later, the rain had calmed down to a slight drizzle but now there was a massive layer of fog surrounding the part of the Misty Mountains the girls were in. They'd decided to take shelter in the cave for the night after they'd properly inspected it and made sure it wasn't occupied. It was Bertha's turn to take watch and she sat leaning against a rock, axe in hand. She spent the time thinking. There was a lot to think about. They'd nearly gotten crushed to death by a rockslide, survived a warg and orc ambush on the great east road and now all they had to do was cross the Misty Mountains and hopefully they'd be home free. So suffice it to say this journey had proven quite the experience for her and the others.

Her thoughts were interrupted by someone moving behind her. She turned around to see Brianna heading for the cave entrance with her walking stick and all her things packed. She then got up and carefully moved towards Brianna being sure not to step on anyone.

"Whoa, wait!" Bertha exclaimed quietly "Where are you going?"

Brianna sighed and turned to Bertha looking very cross.

"I'm going back to Rivendell." she said "Then I'm going back to my home in Hobbiton."

"B-But why?" Bertha demanded "Have we been unkind to you?"

"No, no, you haven't." Brianna said "I just don't think I'm cut out for this kind of life."

"Look, I understand how you feel." Bertha said "You're homesick. So am I."

"No, you don't understand!" Brianna barked "You dwarves, you're used to this kind of life! Moving round and about, never staying in one place! You don't belong anywhere!"

Brianna gasped and put her hand against her mouth. The pained look on Bertha's face just made the situation worse. Brianna then put her hand down and sighed.

"Look, I am terribly sorry." she said "I didn't…"

"N-No it's alright." Bertha said softly "We don't belong anywhere. This…this whole quest was a horrible idea."

At that last part, Bertha's voice broke and she sniffed to fight back any tears. She then took a moment to look at her cousin who was sound asleep. She then looked back to Brianna and cleared her throat.

"I wish you the best." she said.

Brianna sighed and was just about to leave when Bertha noticed something about Brianna's sword.

"What's wrong with your sword?" she asked.

Brianna was surprised by this sudden question but then she looked closely at her sword and noticed the sheath was glowing at the edge. She then drew the sword slightly out of the sheath and it was indeed glowing bright blue.

"Oh, that's odd." she said "Gillian did mention that-"

Suddenly she got a scared look on her face and then remembered what Gillian had told her at the troll cave.

 _It will glow blue whenever Orcs or goblins are nearby._ she had said.

Every hair on the back of Brianna's neck stood up and she then looked at Bertha with her face as white as a sheet.

"Oh no." she said.

Traude was awoken by Brianna and Bertha's argument but pretty much missed the entire thing. But when she opened her eyes she noticed something about the sandy cave floor. It was seemingly slipping into the floor and she suddenly felt as if she was sinking. She propped herself up but instead of feeling sand or dirt she felt…wood. It took only seconds for the gears to start turning her head before she figured what her group was in.

They were on top of a trap door.

"W-Wake up!" she yelled "WAKE UP GIRLS!"

Everyone suddenly woke up and noticed what she noticed. But without warning the entire floor of the cave suddenly collapsed from under them and down they all fell (Brianna and Bertha included) into the darkness as the trap door closed behind them. She bounced and slid their way through the jet black tunnel with positively no idea where they were going or what was even happening. But what they did know, or rather feel, were a rocks they bumped into every now and again. And those hurt. A lot.

Finally after what seemed like forever they saw some light and they then flew out the tunnel and fell another ten feet and finally landed into what looked like a cell of some kind made out of bamboo wood. By far hitting the floor of the cell was the most painful part.

"Is everyone okay?" Traude asked dizzyingly.

"Yeah." the rest of the girls moaned.

The girls then started to get up and brush themselves off when suddenly they heard screeching noises from just up ahead. Everyone suddenly froze and slowly turned around as the screeching got louder and louder. Their faces turned white as sheets. Glowing eyes suddenly appearing from up ahead in the darkness and began to grow larger as they got closer. And then, as if things couldn't get any worse, several, no, hundreds of goblins rounded the corner of the cave wall, emerging from the pitch black cave up ahead and before any of the girls could react, the goblins were upon them.

Everything happened so quickly that poor Brianna almost got trampled but she managed to crawl away just in time. The other girls were not so lucky as they were dragged away. Especially poor Daniela who tried to punch her way out but the goblins kept restraining her.

"GET THE HELL OFF OF ME!" she screamed.

One goblin punched Daniela right in the face after she said that. The goblins began then lighting torches and dragged the girls into the tunnel. In the midst of all this, Nadja turned to look behind her and noticed Brianna wasn't with them. She wasn't even in the trap. Then a couple of more goblins blocked her view so now it just looked like an endless row of goblins.

Brianna was actually hiding behind a rock waiting for the goblins to pass. As the noises subsided, she peeked from behind her rock. The goblins had gone and now she was alone with nothing but the occasional bat fluttering about. She then walked out onto a pathway leading away from the trap and drew her sword hoping it wasn't glowing.

It was still glowing blue. Brianna gulped with fright.

"Oh great, there's more." she said to herself.

She then walked forward as quietly as possible. Every time a wooden floorboard creaked she thought something would burst out or she would fall through the boards. She then turned around and looked around. Nope. Nothing behind her. She breathed a sigh of relief. It looked like she was in the clear.

But then the moment she turned around a goblin armed with a sharp sword suddenly leapt seemingly from the cave walls and was right in front of her. The hideous creature hissed at her and then lunged at her. Brianna then did what she could to defend herself. Brianna's sword and the goblins sword clashed against each other as the circled around one another. Finally the goblin was tired of this and jumped onto Brianna and tried to wrap a rope around her neck. But Brianna wasn't going down without a fight.

She grabbed her sword tightly and swung it around and around and began running looking for a place to slam the goblin into. But suddenly she slipped on a wet floorboard and then her and the goblin crashed through a wooden railing and fell down into the darkness, losing her sword when she smacked into a rock and everything went black.


	28. Down in Goblin Town

The poor dwarves were dragged about until they found themselves in the middle of a goblin city with goblins screeching, chattering and laughing when they saw the girls. And then suddenly a loud horrible series of noises began. It was so unpleasant that Beate covered her ears.

It was music. Goblin music. And as the goblin band played on it dawned on the girls what was happening and they looked just ahead. At the end of the pathway there was a truly hideous goblin sitting on a throne made out of wood and bone that was built into a rock outcropping. This goblin was as fat as a cow and had no hair to speak of except for some streams of white hair on his head. On his head was a crudely made crown and he had a massive wooden staff with a cow skull on the top.

This was the goblin King. He laughed a drunken laugh and then as the music kicked in, he began to do what sounded like a mix of wailing and laughing. But it wasn't either. It was worse….he was singing. And this is what he sang:

 _Clap, snap the black crack!_

 _Grip grab pinch and nab!_

 _Batter and beat!_

 _Make them stammer and squeak!_

 _Pound, pound far under grounddddd…_

 _Down, down, down in Goblin Town…_

 _With a swish and a smack and a whip and a crack!_

 _Everybody talks when they're on my rack!_

 _Pound, pound far underground…_

 _Down, down, down to Goblin Town…_

 _Hammer and torch!_

 _You won't last long on the end of my prong!_

 _Clash crash crush and smash!_

 _Bang break shiver and shake!_

 _You can yell it and yelp but there ain't no help!_

 _Pound, pound far underground…_

 _Down, down, down in Goblin Townnnnnnnn!_

He finally finished his dreadful song and the other goblins laughed after he finished. He then flopped himself on this throne and he was so heavy you could hear some of the wood on the chair crack. To say the girls were disgusted by this would be an understatement.

"Catchy, isn't it?" the goblin King slurred "It's one of my own compositions."

"That was no song." Barbara said "IT'S AN ABOMINATION!"

The other girls agreed and expressed their distaste for the song. The goblin king laughed.

"Abominations, deviations." He said "That's all you're going to find down here. But let's get down to business."

He snapped his fingers and the goblins threw the girls weapons on the floor. The goblin king then got up off his throne and gave the girls a very gross and rather angry look.

"Who the hell are you all?!" he demanded "Come to assassinate me, eh?"

The girls didn't respond but just stood there in silence, understandably uncomfortable with the whole situation.

"Looks like they don't want to talk, your malevolence." said Grinnah who was a goblin with bat-like ears.

"So the silent treatment, eh? Well, don't just stand there you idiots!" the goblin king yelled "Search them! Now!"

The goblins got to work grabbing the girl's bags and opening them to see what was inside. One goblin yanked Ophelia's hearing aid and threw it to the ground and then stepped on it until it was flat. She whimpered in shock as the ear-trumpet was a gift from her husband.

"Oi! There's nothin' in here but clothes and maggoty bread!" said a goblin with an annoying voice named Klaw.

"Whoa, hold on, boys." piped up a rather large goblin named Otto "I got something here."

He then took Nadja's backpack and then dumped it's contents in front of the goblin king. Suddenly a lamp stand, several dozen utensils and a cup fell out of the bag and Grinnah threw the backpack aside and grabbed the lamp stand.

"It would seem, boss, that they're in league with Elves!" he said handing the goblin king the lamp stand.

"Made in Rivendell." the goblin king said observing it "Second Age. Couldn't give it away."

Dorothea gasped and her and Ottilie looked at Nadja angrily and Nadja gulped nervously.

"J-Just a couple of keep sakes." Nadja said.

"If you weren't my sister, I would punch you right in the nose." Dorothea hissed in a tone that made it sound like she was about to tear Nadja's head off.

"What are you doing in these parts?!" the goblin king said suddenly "Speak!"

"Alright, girls, I'll handle this." Ophelia said as she stepped forward.

"No tricks!" the goblin king said "I want the truth!"

"What?!" she said while trying to fight back the urge to laugh.

The goblin king blinked in surprise. "I said I want the-"

"What?! I'm sorry I can't hear ya that well!" Ophelia exclaimed "You're going to have to speak louder! Your boys flattened my trumpet!"

"I'll flatten more than you're trumpet!" the goblin king roared, stomping towards her.

Bertha suddenly stepped forward and got right in front of Ophelia.

"I-If there's more information you want I'm the one you should speak to!" Bertha exclaimed.

The goblin king stopped, suddenly intrigued. He went and sat back down.

"Okay then." he said "Remember. No tricks."

"Oh trust me, I'm incapable of willfully deceiving anyone." Bertha said.

She then quickly turned and winked to Bridget and Bertha. She was going to stall whether this goblin…thing…liked it or not. She turned back to the goblin king and cleared her throat.

"You see, my friends and I were on the road." she said "At least I think it was a road. No, no, wait. What was it, Barbara?"

"A path I guess." she replied.

"Oh really?" the goblin king asked sarcastically.

"Oh yes." Bertha replied "But wait…actually…it was more like a track."

"No it was a path!" Frieda barked.

"Right, thank you!" Bertha responded "Well anyway, I'm probably boring you with my talking."

"Shut up." the goblin king whispered to himself in annoyance.

"Anyway, we were on this road like a path like a track…and then we weren't!" Bertha laughed "Which is bad because we were supposed to be in Dunland last Tuesday."

"Visiting distant relations!" Dorothea piped up.

"Y-Yes we were!" Bridget barked.

"Some inbreeds on me mother's side." Bertha said "It's kind of a funny story actually-"

"WILL YOU SHUT UP?!" the goblin king roared in anger.

Everyone shut up and an awkward moment of silence fell upon a cavern.

"If they will not talk" the goblin king said breaking the silence "we'll make them squawk!"

The thousands of goblins around him laughed wickedly and he did what could be described as a mix between laughing and hacking mucus.

"Bring up the mangler!" he said "Bring up the bone-breaker! Start with the youngest!" the goblin king ordered pointing at Ottilie whose face turned as white as a sheet when he said that.

"WAIT!" Traude yelled from the back row.

She then walked her way towards the front in a surprisingly graceful fashion and clenched her fists. She stared at the goblin king as if she'd slit his throat any second.

"Well, well, well!" the goblin king said "Look who it is, boys! Traude, daughter of Thrain, daughter of Thror! Queen under the mountain!"

He then bowed mockingly at Traude who just rolled her eyes and sighed with annoyance. The goblin king then got right back up and then gasped.

"Oh wait! I'm forgetting you don't have a mountain." he said "And you're not a queen. Which makes you…nobody really. Nothing more than a common whore."

"How dare you speak of my aunt in such a way, you fat, vile bastard?!" Kamilla angrily exclaimed.

"Kamilla, be quiet!" Traude ordered "Let me handle this."

The goblin king laughed wickedly and then sighed. He then turned his attention to Traude who was still glaring at him.

"I'm actually glad you're here." the goblin king said "I wouldn't having your head as a trophy. Just the head. Nothing attached, of course."

"Really now?" Traude asked sarcastically.

"Oh yes." the goblin king replied "But you just gotta answer one question...what are you doing around these parts?"

Traude didn't answer. She simply walked back towards the group with a very bored look on her face. The goblin king sighed in irritation.

"Guess we'll have to do this the hard way." the goblin king said as he then turned to a midget goblin scribe who was snickering wickedly and was in a bucket attached to a rope "Tell the boys to bring up the mangler and bone-breaker!"

"You got it, boss!" the goblin scribe wheezed.

The goblin scribe then tugged on his rope and the bucket slid down a rope line leading to the side of the mountain where the girls had come in and down the bucket slid into the darkness, the scribe laughing all the way.


	29. Riddles in the Dark

Brianna's eyes finally slowly opened despite the rest of her protesting. She was lying on her side though how she got that way she had no idea. She saw just a few feet away was the goblin who attacked her lying flat on it's back and with a tiny pool of blood leaking from it's back. She then also noticed she was in a bed of mushrooms of unusual size. She was just about to prop herself up when she heard a hissing sound and ducked back into the mushrooms.

From the other side of a rock emerged probably the most strange creature Brianna had ever seen. It had a very thin and skinny body. So skinny in fact that the outline of it's rib-cage could be seen. It was bright, big blue eyes and had sharp teeth. It had splayed feet and hands like an ape and yet did not look like an ape at all. It had so hair except for black strands of hair on it's bald head. It's only clothing was a leather strap round it's waist.

"Yes, yes, yes!" he exclaimed "Gollum! Gollum!"

Brianna darted her eyes. There was no one else in the room. This…whatever it was kept confusing her every passing second.

Gollum didn't notice Brianna at all and then he started dragging the goblin away when suddenly it screeched and tried to smack Gollum with it's clawed hands. Gollum retaliated by grabbing a rock and smacking the goblin over the head with it. As he did so, something flew out of Gollum's strap pocket.

It was a small, golden ring but this ring in particular when it landed on the rocks nearby instead of creating a clink sound it produced a thudding noise. Barely audible from where Brianna was but she could still hear it.

Gollum finally smacked the goblin hard enough to cause some blood to spurt out and stain Gollum's face. He then smacked it two more times for good measure. Sure enough the goblin stopped moving and Gollum hissed and then resumed dragging the lifeless corpse.

"Nasty goblinses, precious!" he moaned "Better then bones, precious. Better then nothing!"

As the voice faded away along with the two figures, Brianna finally felt safe enough to stand up. She then brushed herself off and looked up. She couldn't see the top but she was sure she was in some kind of cavern and hoped she'd find a way out. She then looked at the hem of her now muddy gown and sighed in disappointment.

"Oh great." she moaned "My gowns all ruined. I'll have to get a new one."

She then looked to her right and saw her sword buried under some more mushrooms and she picked it up. It had stopped glowing. With the goblin dead she sighed with relief but was unsure what else was in this cave so she didn't sheath it. She was just about to look for a way out when she felt something.

It was a rather strange feeling she'd never felt before. But it simultaneously felt like something touched her and was talking to her. It was as if whatever was causing this feeling was calling her. Before she knew what she was doing, she then carefully approached the ring Gollum had dropped. She picked it up and looked at it carefully. It looked like any other ring but it felt rather heavy for something so small.

"My souvenir for the neighbors back home." she said as stuck it in her pocket "If I ever get home."

She then heard Gollum exclaim in the distance. She then got an idea. This…thing seemed to live here for a long, long time. Maybe he could show her the way out. It was risky and downright insane, but she thought it was worth trying. She then carefully walked down the pathway following the sound of Gollum's ranting. She briefly looked down and shuddered when she saw the bones of bats and fish at her feet as she walked by. Pretty soon she then found herself in a part of the cave that made her jaw drop.

She found herself in a massive part of the cave that contained a large lake with sharp rocks jutting out of it. She ducked behind three rocks close together near the water's edge and she peeked from behind one of the rocks. There was one large rock in particular jutting right out of the lake and there she could faintly see Gollum.

"We eat fine tonight, precious." he said.

Brianna began to wonder who on earth Gollum was talking too when suddenly her nose started itching. Before she could do anything about, however, she sneezed a very loud sneeze. She darted back behind the rock and she quickly wiped away any snot from her nose.

 _Oh great_. she thought _What is it with me and sneezing today?_

She took a deep breath and then peeked from behind the rock. She almost gasped when she saw Gollum had vanished from his rock. A sudden chill went down her spine and she drew her sword and held it out in front of her. She began shaking like a leaf, terrified of what might happen next. Sweat streamed down her cheeks from her forehead. Suddenly something landed close by and Brianna gasped in horror as she turned around and saw Gollum looking right at her.

"Blesses and splashes, precious!" he hissed "What have we got here?"

"Stay back!" Brianna said gripping her sword even tighter and waving it in front of her.

Gollum hissed at her and then he coughed "Gollum! Gollum!" then turned away from Brianna and darted his eyes everywhere for no reason in particular "It's got an Elvish blade. But it's not an Elf. What is it precious?" he then turned to Brianna "What is it?"

"M-M-My name is Brianna Baggins." Brianna stammered "Brianna Baggins…o-of the Shire!"

"Bagginses?" Gollum said in bafflement "What is a Bagginses precious?"

"I'm a hobbit." Brianna replied "I-If you must know."

"Oh! A hobbitses?!" Gollum laughed "We've had fishes, goblinses and bats! But we've never tried hobbitses before!"

Brianna gulped nervously and Gollum circled around till he was in front of her, with Brianna never once lowering her sword.

"Is it fat?" Gollum hissed as he moved towards her "Is it soft? Is it juicy?"

"Get back!" Brianna yelled swinging her sword in front of her "Keep your distance!"

The sword just barely missed Gollum and he jumped back and hissed at her. She then steadied her sword and sighed.

"I will use this if I have to!" she exclaimed "I don't any trouble. Just show me the way out of wherever I am!"

"Why?" Gollum asked "Is it lost?"

"Y-Yes." Brianna stammered "And I'd love to get un-lost as soon as possible! Do you know the way…Gollum…thing?"

"Oh we knows!" Gollum barked "We knows safe paths for hobbitses! Safe paths in the dark!" Gollum suddenly hissed and turned his head "SHUT UP!"

Brianna looked around with her eyes. "I didn't say anything."

Gollum looked at her with a very cross expression.

"I wasn't talking to you!" he said before turning away again "But, we was, precious. We was."

"Okay, listen, creature." Brianna said "I have no idea what you're game is but-"

"GAMES!?" Gollum exclaimed happily as he pounced on top of his rock "Oh we love games! Don't we precious? Oh wait, do Bagginses like games? Does it? Does it?"

"Um…yeah sure…I guess." Brianna said biting her lip.

Gollum then cleared his throat and cracked his knuckles. "What has roots as nobody sees? Is taller than trees? Up, up, up it goes and yet never grows?"

Brianna quickly figured out the answer. Her mother once told her such a riddle with she was a little girl. So it was rather simple.

"A mountain." she replied.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Gollum laughed "Let's have another! NO! No more riddles!" he hissed as he jumped off his rock and towards the lake's edge "Let's finish her off! Gollum! Gollum!"

"N-No wait!" Brianna protested "I do want to play! I really do!"

Gollum then turned around and looked at her with a look of expectation.

"I see you're very good at this game." Brianna stated "I used to play this when I was a little girl. Do you have a mum?"

"No." Gollum replied "Just me and precious."

"Who's precious?" Brianna asked.

"None of your business, Bagginses!" Gollum shrieked "Will Bagginses play or not?!"

"I will play! Just calm down, please." Brianna responded "We'll have a game of riddles. Just me, you and your…precious. But on one condition. If I win, you show me the way out."

"Yes." Gollum said turning away from Brianna "And if it loses? What then? Well if it loses, precious, then we eats it!" he laughed as he turned to Brianna "If Bagginses loses, we eats it whole!"

Brianna gulped and thought about this while she did some eye searching. At the same time as the complete bizarreness of the situation hit her she also knew that thing was the only way she'd ever get she sighed and decided to roll with.

"Fair enough." she finally said.

She then got up and sheathed her sword and rubbed her hands together. Gollum then circled around her and got on top of a large rock.

"Bagginses first." he said.

"Okay, let me see…" Brianna said before snapping her fingers "I got it! Thirty white horses on a red hill. First they champ, then they stamp…and then they stand still."

Gollum bit his lip as he thought about this. This was a tricky hobbitses. He then did some random eye searching before turning his attention back to Brianna.

"Teeth?" he asked.

Brianna then nodded.

"Teeth!" Gollum laughed "Yes, my precious!"

 _Why on earth is he calling me that?_ Brianna thought.

Gollum then cleared his throat interrupting her thoughts.

"Our turn." he said "Voiceless it cries. Wingless it flutters. Toothless it bites. Mouth-less it mutters."

Brianna blinked in surprise. This really was a tricky one. She then turned her back on Gollum and rubbed her chin and looked up at the cave ceiling.

"We knows! We knows!" Gollum barked before hissing at himself "Shut up!"

Brianna ignored Gollum and looked for a moment at the water as wind came through cracks in the cave walls and blew through her hair and caused ripples in the water.

"Crap, it's windy in here." she whispered to herself "Wait…"

It then suddenly dawned on her and she chuckled softly.

"Wind!" she exclaimed as she turned to Gollum "It's wind!"

Gollum snarled in annoyance as he crawled towards Brianna. "Very clever. Very clever hobbitses."

"Hey, hey, whoa!" Brianna barked as she drew her sword once more "A box without hinges, key or lid and yet golden treasure inside is hid!"

Gollum blinked in surprise and then turned around and snarled.

"It's nasty." he said.

He then slapped himself on his forehead and hissed with anger.

"Are you done?" Brianna inquired.

"Give us a chance, precious!" Gollum exclaimed "Give us a chance!"

"Alright then." Brianna said.

Gollum then moaned in annoyance and spat out something which sounded like eggs and he suddenly guessed the riddle.

"Eggses!" he said laughing "Eggses! Wet, crunchy, little eggses! Grandma told us to suck them, yes!"

Just then some bats then flew out of a hole in the cave wall behind Brianna and she gasped and turned to face them. She sighed and turned around only to find to her shock that Gollum had vanished. She darted her eyes everywhere but he was nowhere in sight.

"We have one for you!" Gollum said suddenly to Brianna's shock "All things it devours. Birds, beasts, trees, flowers. Gnaws iron. Bites steel. Grinds hard stones to meal."

Brianna was scared out of her mind and was turning as white as her dress. Sweat slid down her face and she panted with fear. She gripped her sword even tighter.

"Answer us." Gollum said.

"J-Just give me a moment!" Brianna stammered "I gave you a good long while!"

She then tried to think of the answer for the riddle as she backed up towards the rock Gollum was sitting on, all the while looking for Gollum.

"Is it fat? Is it tasty?" Gollum said in an almost mocking tone "Is it scrumptious? Is it juicy?!"

Brianna happened to turn around to look behind her when Gollum exclaimed 'Is it juicy?!' and Gollum leapt out from behind his rock and Brianna stepped back and held her sword out in front of her.

"G-Get back!" she demanded "Let me solve your riddle."

She then turned her head slightly and looked up at the cave wall.

"It's stuck." Gollum muttered "Bagginses is stuck. Out of time."

It suddenly clicked to Brianna and she giggled with relief as she turned to face Gollum.

"The answer is time!" she said.

Gollum growled in frustration and Brianna put her left hand on her hip.

"I will admit that one was hard." she said "Good job."

Gollum then gave Brianna a very cross look and Brianna grabbed her sword with both hands.

"One last turn for you." Gollum said "Ask us."

Brianna was now beginning to tire of this game and she couldn't tell if Gollum was getting tired of it as well or if he was still invested in this game.

"Ask us!" he hissed.

"Okay, okay!" Brianna said as she rushed through a question in her head "What have I got in my pocket?!"

Gollum was flabbergasted by this and blinked in surprise.

"What?" he simply asked.

Brianna suddenly realized what she had to do. She then smirked and raised an eyebrow.

"Well?" she said smugly "What have I got in my pocket, Gollum?"

Gollum was now becoming very annoyed with this hobbit. He snarled and threw down a rock in frustration.

"That's not fair!" he whined "It's against the rules! Ask us another one!"

"Now, wait a minute!" Brianna said "You said ask you and that is my question. What have I got in my pocket?"

Gollum hopped off his rock. "Give us three guesses!"

"Three guesses." Brianna said "After that you show me the way out."

"Um…handses!" Gollum barked.

"Sorry." Brianna replied showing both her hands "Try again please."

Gollum hissed and paced around some fish bones nearby. "Ugh! Fishes! Bat wings!" he muttered before turning to Brianna "Knife! OH SHUT UP!"

"Wrong!" Brianna said "One last chance."

"String or nothing!" Gollum exclaimed.

"Two guesses at once." Brianna responded "Wrong both times, I'm afraid."

Gollum slapped himself in the forehead and moaned in defeat. He then turned away from Brianna and muttered something unintelligible but Brianna thought it was probably some kind of profanity.

"I'm so sorry you lost." Brianna said "But you must show me the way out now."

"Did we?" Gollum said turning slowly towards Brianna "Did we say so, precious?"

He then reached into his strap pocket but then his face changed from smirking to utter shock. Nothing was in his pocket. He then gasped and he looked all over himself for his ring. He then flopped on the ground and gasped again.

"Where is it?!" he said in horror as she began searching through the various animal bones "Where is it?! No!"

But the ring wasn't there. He then got more stressed out and looked under two nearby rocks.

"NO!" he shrieked "WHERE IS IT?!"

He then ran towards the water and splashed his hands through the water disturbing some resting fish.

"LOST!" he screamed "CURSES AND SPLASHES! MY PRECIOUS IS LOST!"

He then slammed his hands into the water and then starting crying softly. Brianna, who had been staring at this the whole time in surprise, suddenly began to feel very sorry for Gollum.

"W-What have you lost?" she asked.

"MUSN'T ASK US!" Gollum yelled "NOT IT'S BUSINESS! NO! GOLLUM! GOLLUM!"

Brianna then sheathed her sword and began to step back slightly putting her hands in her pocket. Gollum, in the meantime, however looked at his reflection in the mirror. Suddenly the gears starting turning his head. Why would a hobbitses ask what was in her pocket? He suddenly realized something and he started to become very angry.

"What…has it got…in it's…nasty…little pocketses…?" he snarled as he began to turn towards Brianna with his teeth bared.

He then looked at Brianna who was looking very nervous and then he looked at her hands stuffed in her pockets. He then clenched his fists.

"She stole it." he said as he began to get angrier by the second "She stole it!"

He then shrieked at her and then grabbed a rock and threw it at her but she managed to dodge it and she started scrambling back towards the way she came.

"SHE STOLE IT!" Gollum yelled.

Brianna then started to run once she was on the pathway with Gollum in hot pursuit.

 ***NOTE: Wow I'm finally getting more then one chapter out! I'm sorry this fic has taken so long to get going and update but suffice it to say my home life has become extremely hectic and chaotic these past few months. So if I'm late on a chapter, I do apologize. I'll try to update more often. Also I'm going to try and not stick too close to the movies just FYI.**


	30. The Fast and the Furious Goblin Chase

Traude and her group, unfortunately, we're still stuck with the goblins who were currently bringing in things which obviously were torture devices. Although to be fair, the girls thought it wouldn't be as torturous as the goblin king's singing. And sadly, he was singing AGAIN. And he was getting some kind of sick pleasure out of singing the following song:

 _Bones will be shattered, necks will be wrung!_

 _You'll be beaten and battered, from racks you'll be hung!_

 _You will die down here and never be found!_

 _Down in the deep of Goblin-Town!_

As the goblin king wrapped up his song Grinnah grabbed Orcrist and began to unsheathe it. The moment he saw that sword he shrieked and threw it to the ground. The goblin king saw it and backed away as if it was from an alien planet.

"I know that sword!" he exclaimed "It is the Goblin cleaver! The blade that sliced a thousand necks! Kill them!"

The goblins were quick to throw all the girls to the ground except for Traude who managed to throw some goblins back before Otto smacked her so hard she fell to the ground and one of the goblins grabbed her by her throat and pulled out a huge knife.

"Cut off her bloody head!" the goblin king ordered.

As the goblin raised his knife the entire hall was engulfed in bright light. Everyone and everything was thrown back and it seemed as if all the sound was muted. The light then disappeared and light slowly returned to the hall. The girls then looked up slightly and saw a figure walking towards them from where the goblin king's throne stood a few moments ago. The figure then finally was revealed when light finally returned to the cave hall.

It was Gillian. With her staff in one hand and her sword in the other.

The girls looked up along with whatever goblins remained and stared in astonishment. Gillian then looked directly at the dwarves.

"G-Gillian?" Beate asked in a daze.

"Take up arms." Gillian said.

The girls then looked at their weapons and then at Gillian.

"Fight!" she ordered "Get up and fight!"

"You heard the woman!" Daniella bellowed "Time for an asskickin!"

That's all the girls needed to hear. They wasted no time in smacking the goblins away and getting their weapons. Gillian rushed in to join the action and sliced through two goblins with Glamdring.

"Sire, look!" Grinnah shrieked.

"She wields the Foe-Hammer!" the goblin king screamed "The Beater! Bright as daylight!"

The goblins could do little to stop the girls because although they didn't look it, the dwarves were good fighters. Very good. Most of the goblins barely got within two feet before they were sliced up or cut down. One very stupid goblin decided to try his luck and lunged to attack Frieda but Kamilla noticed just in time and in seconds the goblins sword and her sword clashed and with three strikes Kamilla slashed the goblin's throat open and kicked him aside.

The goblin king had quite enough of these dwarves. He picked up his giant skull staff and charged at Traude, though due to his massive size who could only amble towards her.

"Traude!" Nadja yelled "Catch!"

Traude caught Orcrist just in time and then just as the goblin king's staff went down, Traude drew her sword and the two weapons collided. The impact was so powerful and the goblin king was so fat and huge, that when Traude blocked the staff, he stumbled backwards and crashed into his throne which in turn collapsed under him and that part of the floor caved in and the goblin king and several other goblins fell straight down, screeching as they went.

Gillian by this point had joined the fight. And she was just as skilled as the girls despite her age. After slicing a goblin down and cutting another one's head off, she quickly grabbed her staff which she had dropped by accident. Fortunately by now, almost all the goblins on the platform had been dealt with but more goblins were angrily charging via the bridge.

"Girls, quickly!" Gillian ordered "Grab your bags and weapons and follow me! Hurry!"

The girls grabbed their bags and weapons and wasted no time in following after Gillian with the enraged goblins not far behind. Faster and faster they ran, running through the goblin city with Gillian in the lead and a horde of angry goblins behind. The girls were running as fast as they could. Whenever a goblin or two got in the way the girls smacked them away with their weapons.

"Quick! Split up!" Gillian ordered seeing the bridge separating into two just ahead.

And so, Gillian took Traude, Gerlinde, Ophelia, Kamilla, Frieda, Barbara and Daniela with her to the right, whilst Daniela took Dorothea, Nadja, Ottilie, Bridget, Bertha and Beate to the left. No sooner had the two groups separated then two goblins came rushing at Daniela's group but Daniela hacked and smacked them away before they could reach any of the other girls. Everyone stopped however when they heard more goblins coming towards them from the front.

"What'll we do?!" Beate asked.

Daniela looked around for something other than swords and axes to fight of the goblins. She then looked to her right and saw a very long piece of wood almost as long as two crocodiles lined tail to tail that was part of the wooden railway. She ten barked an order in dwarfish and the girls quickly cut the ropes loose and the piece of wood fell to the floor and the girls wasted no time in picking it up as the goblins came into view in front of them.

"CHARGE!" Daniela yelled.

And the girls ran forward and then swung the stick to the right and smacked the goblins away and off they fell off the bridge. The girls quickly turned to stick to the left and smacked away yet another group of goblins. And then they swung the stick to the right and smacked yet another group of goblins. The girls then quickly dropped the stick and drew their weapons.

"Here we go!" Daniela yelled.

And onward the girls charged into the goblin ranks, cutting, slicing, stabbing and axing goblins as they went. They looked up briefly and saw Gillian's group just above them fighting their own group of goblins.

The two groups eventually met up via the top bridge moving towards and then engaged the goblins in a fierce battle. Swords clashed and sliced through opponents, black goblin blood spurted everywhere and the girls wielded their weapons with amazing skill. Even Beate, whom the goblins perceived as the weakest, put up an incredible fight, for although she didn't have a sword or axe, no one could wield a spear like she.

Although Frieda was having a little bit of trouble. While she finished off a goblin in front of her, a small goblin jumped from behind a rock and slashed Frieda in the back. Frieda screamed in agonizing pain and she fell to the ground, but never once letting go of her sword. She then looked up just as the goblin raised his knife to stab her. She prepared for the worst when suddenly two arrows flew from out of nowhere and struck the goblin in the throat and between the eyes. She then looked behind her and saw her sister run to her side, pushing a goblin over the edge of the bridge before finally reaching her sister.

"Come on!" she exclaimed "Get up! Let's go!"

"G-Go on without me." Frieda groaned in pain "It's too far."

"It's not too damn far!" Kamilla barked before turning to look at Bridget and Dorothea who were coming to help "Come on, hurry!"

"Right, then." Dorothea said as she and Bridget helped Frieda up "Come on, quick. Easy now."

Frieda winced in pain as they lifted her up and Bridget carried her and Kamilla got a chance to see the blood on Frieda's back, which made her feel nauseous. Suddenly three arrows whizzed just over Kamilla's head and hit the nearby rocks. She whizzed her head around to see some goblins on the other side firing at them with some bows and arrows. Kamilla wasted no time in drawing her sword and dodging and blocking any arrows that tried to hit her sister.

"Come on, this way!" Traude ordered from just ahead.

All of the girls then surrounded, Bridget, Frieda, Kamilla and Dorothea and they charged straight ahead towards Gillian, Traude, Barbara and Daniela who had managed to keep path clear. The girls finally reached them just as another mass horde of goblins came up behind them.

"Quickly now, ladies!" Gillian said "There may be a way out!"

The girls noticed that just ahead was an unguarded bridge. Dorothea and Nadja quickly picked up the pace and ran so fast that they outran the group and were the first on the bridge.

"We're almost there!" Dorothea exclaimed happily.

Suddenly out from under the floorboards burst the goblin king and he clumsily climbed up with his grotesque staff in his right hand and cuts all over his body with blood flowing down from his left ear. Dorothea and Nadja backed away into the other girls how now had goblins behind them and the goblin king on the other side.

 _Oh dash it all_. Gillian thought.

The goblin king growled at the girls as Gillian stepped in front of the girls with her sword drawn and staff in her other hand. Behind the girls were more goblins who had finally caught up with them and had them at blade point. But Gillian stood her ground. No goblin was going to intimidate her.

"Did you honestly think you could escape me?!" the goblin king said "What are you going to do now, eh?!"

He then smacked his staff on the bridge which caused it to creak and shake. Gillian stepped back a few feet and almost her balance but the girls picked her up and helped her back up.

"I said, what are you going to do now wizard?!" the goblin king demanded.

Gillian rolled her eyes. He DID ask what she was going to do so he did have what followed coming. Gillian promptly smacked the goblin king right in his nose. He exclaimed in pain and annoyance and then Gillian motioned for Ophelia to come towards her. She quickly leaned in and whispered something into her ear trumpet.

The goblin king groaned in irritation as he looked to the girls, with blood dripping out his nose.

"That'll do it." the goblin king said.

"So will this!" Ophelia barked.

With that, she drew out one of her boomerangs and threw it in the goblin king's direction. He was surprisingly able to dodge it as it flew past him. The goblins then all laughed very creepy, unsettling laughs. Everyone else looked at Ophelia who nervously tapped her feet looking at Gillian, who was the only other one apart from Traude and a Barbara maintaining their cool.

The goblin king joined in the laughing. "You missed! Next time, try actually aiming you stupid motherfu-"

All of a sudden the boomerang did what boomerangs do best and came back around, slicing right through the goblin king's throat before he could finish that profanity. Blood stained some of Gillian's face and dress as the goblin king's blood poured out like a leaking pipe and Ophelia successfully caught her boomerang as the goblin king's dead body landed with a loud thud on the bridge. Her and the girls had enough of goblins for one day. But when the dead body of the goblin king hit the bridge it creaked and swayed more than ever. The girls quickly huddled together and prepared for the worst. Gillian then grasped her staff and recited a spell, with a magical force field encompassing them.

Suddenly, without warning, the bridge they were on collapsed and the section they were all on fell straight down. Down, down, down it went, slamming into other bridges and pathways with debris flying everywhere. Inside the force field, however, the girls were all unharmed. There was also the lack of gravity so if they weren't grasping the bridge, they were floating around weightless. Still, most of the girls hung on with all their might as a safety precaution (and rightly so) until they finally hit the bottom with a tremendous crash and a cloud of dust. The force field then subsided and everyone who was floating tumbled onto the cave floor.

As the girls moaned, Gillian got back up on her feet. She tapped her staff on the ground and the top of her staff lit up, illuminating the area her and the girls were in. She could now clearly see that the girls were getting up out of the rubble and made sure they were all present and accounted for. She then looked up and then got a shocked expression on her face.

"Girls, would you mind coming towards me please?" she ordered "Right now."

The girls were too exhausted to argue so they just ran over to Gillian until they were right behind her.

"Okay we're here." Traude said "Now…why did you ask us to-"

Suddenly the goblin king's dead body crashed into what was left of the bridge and a cloud of dust blew over the girls. They coughed and did their best to wipe away the dust from their faces, eyes and dresses.

"Well that could have been worse." Bertha coughed.

"For once I believe you." Bridget said.

All the girls suddenly heard loud screeching and they looked up and gasped in horror. Wave upon wave of goblins were closing in on them and running down the cave walls. They were far away but they were closing in.

"R-R-R-Ruddy b-bloody hell!" Beate said as her stammer came back with a vengeance "How can they still be chasing us?!"

"There's too many of them!" Daniela said "We can't fight them!"

"And Frieda's hurt!" Kamilla barked.

"Only one thing will save us: daylight!" Gillian exclaimed "Let's move! If we're lucky this will be the way out!"

And the girls quickly picked up their things and ran after Gillian as fast as their feet could carry them.


	31. Invisible Hobbit

Brianna was becoming very tired of running but every time she heard Gollum shriek behind her she kept running and running. Each time harder then the last. One moment she was laying a game of riddles with Gollum and it seemed like she'd be out of this cave and now she was running for her life after Gollum had put two and two together and figured out she'd taken his ring. Finally, she came upon a dead end. A set of rocks blocked her path and she desperately looked for a way out. Gollum's screeches were starting to sound closer. She looked up at the rocks. Darn, she couldn't climb over them.

"Give it back!" screamed Gollum from seemingly a few feet away "Give it to us!"

Brianna felt shivers down her spine and looked all over for an escape route. Finally she saw something. Just at the center of the rocks was a crack in the rock formation large enough for a small person. No, make that a hobbit. It was perfect. She wasted no time in clambering through the hole as best she could as Gollum got ever nearer.

But just when she thought she was free, she suddenly felt a jerk on her dress and she fell to the ground. She then whipped her head around to see what happened. To her shock, her dress had gotten caught on one of the more jagged rocks.

"Damn it!" she hissed at herself.

She then leaned forward, got on her knees and tried to tug the dress free when she heard an all too familiar screech. She turned her head up just to see Gollum, looking enraged just a few feet away, his eyes filled with hate.

"It's ours." he snarled "It's ours!"

 _Confound this dress!_ Brianna thought to herself.

She continued to tug on her dress with all her might and part of the rock came loose and her dress tore slightly. The sudden freedom of her dress caused her to fall over flat on her back. And when she hit the ground Gollum's ring flew right out of her pocket and up in the air. Before she knew what she was doing, she put up her right hand and to her amazement, the ring gently landed on her ring-finger and then suddenly everything around her turned black and white and looked as if she was looking through hazy, smeared glass in fog. Gollum suddenly found his way through the crack and Brianna rolled towards the cave wall to Gollum's left. She made sure to be as quiet as possible so that Gollum hopefully wouldn't see her.

But to her amazement, Gollum acted as if she wasn't there at all. He looked all over the place and snarled.

"Thief!" he screamed "Baggins!"

Brianna just couldn't understand. How could Gollum not see her? She was right next to him and yet it was as if she didn't exist at all or had simply vanished. But then it clicked in her head when she briefly looked at the ring.

She was invisible.

Gollum then interrupted her thoughts by screeching one more time and running straight forward. Brianna then looked around. She decided that Gollum would probably show her the way out if he thought he was chasing her. And due to her newfound invisibility, she hoped it wouldn't be a problem as long as she stayed quiet.

 _It's worth the risk. I've got to get out._ she thought _I just hope everyone else is doing better than me_.

So she followed Gollum, through the nooks, crannies and pathways of the cave, being extra careful not to make any noise or step on anything sharp. An exhausted Gollum finally climbed over a set of rocks and stumbled onto a pathway leading out of the mountain to a nearby cave entrance. It was over ten feet tall and fifteen feet wide and Gollum was temporarily blinded by the shaft of light going through the opening as he continued searching for his ring.

"Wait!" he screamed "My precious! WAIT! Gollum! Gollum!"

Brianna, in the meantime, had finally caught up to Gollum but stayed hidden and tried to be as quiet as possible. As she tried to move in closer she suddenly heard faint shouting and footsteps slowly getting louder and she backed away.

Gollum heard it too and in no time at all ducked behind the rocks to avoid being seen. And suddenly Gillian and the girls stumbled onto the scene.

"Come on!" Gillian ordered.

Brianna was so happy to see the girls she almost audibly shouted but she wisely kept her mouth shut and watched as the girls ran past her and Gollum without noticing either of them. She quietly drew her sword and crept up towards Gollum who at the moment his back turned towards her, looking out at the pathway. He suddenly began to turn and Brianna stepped back a bit and prepared for whatever came next.

Instead she was baffled to see Gollum's entire face and mood had completely changed. Just a few moments ago he'd wanted to do who knows what to her. Now, he looked as if his entire world came crashing down. His ears dropped ever so slightly and his eyes began welling up with tears. Brianna suddenly didn't feel so well herself. She suddenly began to feel very sorry for this Gollum. It seemed this ring she was wearing really was apparently all he had. She then looked at her sword and then back at Gollum.

 _You poor, poor thing._ she thought to herself _But I have to get out. I can't stay here_.

Suddenly Gollum smelled the air and he suddenly began growling as his face changed back to anger. It dawned on Brianna that she hadn't counted on him being able to smell her. She decided it was now or never. She backed away a bit and then clambered onto a rock and leapt just above Gollum but her foot smacked him right in the face. Gollum toppled over just as Brianna cleared the rocks and as soon as she hit the ground she made a bee-line as best she could towards the cave exit. As she ran she heard Gollum scream loudly as he got up and smashed his fists on the ground.

"BAGGINS! THIEF!" he shrieked "CURSE IT AND CRUSH IT! WE HATES IT FOREVER!"

Brianna was then temporarily blinded by the sudden burst of light from the sun and as she ran down the mountain she breathed in the fresh air. She was finally out of that place and she continued to run as fast as her feet could carry her.


	32. Pinecone Your Troubles Away

Gillian and the girls found themselves a clearing in the forested mountain side and all finally stopped and tried to catch their breath. Bridget, who had been carrying Frieda, put her down gently on a rock and Kamilla and Ophelia rushed to her side.

"Okay, we need to bandage her wound, quick!" Ophelia said as she began tending to Frieda's rather large cut which was still bleeding and had now stained her beautiful dress.

"Alright, are we all here?" Gillian said as she began counting the dwarves "Let's see…Traude, Barbara, Daniela, Bertha, Beate, Dorothea, Ottilie, Nadja, Gerlinde, Ophelia, Frieda, Kamilla and Bridget." she laughed "That makes thirteen and….wait…"

She suddenly looked around. Brianna was nowhere in sight. In fact she hadn't seen Brianna at all in the mountain on their way out.

"Where is Brianna?!" she demanded.

The girls suddenly noticed and looked around for her but she was nowhere to be found or seen.

"Curse the halfling!" Daniela moaned "Now she's lost?!"

"I thought she was-OW!" Frieda exclaimed as she glared at Ophelia "That stings!"

"Huh?" Ophelia inquired "It pings?"

"I said it stings!" Frieda said louder.

"That means it's working." Ophelia said.

"B-But I thought Brianna was with Dorothea!" Frieda said as she looked towards Dorothea.

"Whoa, hey, don't blame me!" Dorothea barked.

"It's not my fault either!" Bridget added.

"Alright, settle down!" Gillian ordered "Where did you last see her?"

"I think I last saw her when the goblins captured us though I can't be sure." Nadja piped up.

"Well what happened exactly?" Gillian inquired "Tell me!"

"I'll tell you what happened." Traude said as she walked up to the group center "She saw her chance and she took it."

"I-I don't understand, Traude." Beate said.

"It's quite simple, Beate?" Traude replied "She's abandoned us. She's thought of nothing but her bed, couch and garden since she's left home. We will not be seeing our burglar again. She is long gone."

The girls looked very saddened by this. It appeared that they're burglar up and left them just to go sit on a couch back in the shire.

"I don't believe that's true!" Bridget suddenly piped up.

"Bridget's right!" Gerlinde barked "I think we should go back and get her!"

"Are you stupid?!" Daniela hissed "They'd slaughter us all!"

"But she could be hurt!" Ottilie exclaimed "I think we should go back. She may need us!"

"How can we go and get her if we don't even know where she is?" Barbara asked "I'm not doubting your courage, girls, but we don't know where in that cave she is."

"What's the use?" Beate said sadly "She's already dead anyway."

"No." said a familiar voice "I assure you I'm quite the opposite."

The girls suddenly gasped and turned around to see Brianna emerge from behind a nearby tree. They all sighed immense sighs of relief and Gillian chuckled in amazement.

"Brianna Baggins!" she said "I've never been more happy to see anyone in my life!"

"I-I'm sorry I gave you all a terrible fright!" Brianna said.

"At least you're alright, lass." Barbara piped up.

"But…we'd given you up!" Kamilla said.

"How did you get past the-OW!" Frieda exclaimed as Ophelia applied the medicine "How did you get past the goblins?"

"Yeah, how'd you do that?" Daniela inquired.

Brianna looked around and chuckled nervously and she stuffed her hands in her pocket. She couldn't let them know her little secret.

"Oh you know…" she said as she twirled the ring between her fingers in her pocket "We hobbits have our tricks you know?"

Gillian looked at her with concern. She was acting awfully suspicious even for her. The fact that she was stuffing her hands in her pockets so tightly only raised Gillian's suspicions. But she dismissed it as probably shock from getting out of that horrid place.

"What does it matter?" Gillian finally said "She's back."

"Wait a minute! It does matter." Traude said before turning to Brianna "I want to know. Why did she come back?"

Brianna darted her eyes everywhere. All eyes were on her. Especially Traude who gave her that stare she almost always gave when she demanded to know the truth. Brianna's eyes then darted back to Gillian who gave her a look that said _'Well, young lady, why did you?'_ She sighed and finally took her hands out of her pocket.

"Look I know all of you doubt me. And I know you always have." Brianna replied "And you're right I often think of Bag-End. And my miss my books. And my arm-chair, my garden. My neighbors. See that's where I belong. That's home." she then looked directly at all the girls "But you don't have a home. It was stolen from you. But I will help you take it back if I'm able. That's why I came back."

The girls stayed in silence for a few moments as they thought over what Brianna had said. And then Traude did something unexpected. She looked at Brianna and smiled a soft, kind smile. Brianna felt rather brave. She was giving up a journey home, back to Bag-End, to help these dwarves. She had a feeling they'd need her. And, in a way, she needed them. Gillian chuckled softly and nodded. She clearly made the right choice for their burglar. And then the girls heard something they didn't expect. Something that sent shivers down their spines. Goblins shrieking. You see, the goblins were so enraged by the death of their ruler that they'd gathered en masse and were now descending from the opening the girls had escaped through. Not only could the girls hear them but as they turned around, they could see their torches glowing in the fading light as they grew closer to the cave entrance.

"Oh great." Traude said "Out of the frying pan…"

"And into the fire!" Gillian said "Run, quickly!"

"B-But Frieda's injury!" Kamilla said.

"Frieda's shin journey?!" Ophelia asked in bafflement putting her hearing aid trumpet to her ear flat as it was.

"You stop that!" Gerlinde snarled "Bridget, carry her, quick!"

The girls didn't need to be told a second time because they grabbed all their weapons and made a run for it with Bridget once again having to carry Frieda. They ran as fast as they possibly could given the terrain and looked for another route to escape but the farther they went down the path the more narrow it seemed to get. And they could hear the goblins getting ever closer with their running getting louder.

Brianna was doing her best to keep pace (she was behind Bridget and Kamilla) when suddenly she tripped over a log and toppled over just as a bizarre looking throwing weapon was tossed at her and just missed decapitating her. Said goblin had actually managed to outrun the others, leapt over Brianna and landed right in front of her.

"Well, well." the goblin snarled in a gruff voice "Lookie what we have here."

 _Oh great._ Brianna thought _Not another one of these sodding things._

"Brianna!" Kamilla called out from several feet away.

The goblin stared at Brianna with hate-filled eyes and lunged at her and Brianna shut her eyes and drew her sword and held it out in front of her when suddenly she felt the sword go through something as the sword fell out of her hands and she felt something touch her feet.

She opened her eyes to see the goblin lying dead at her feet and her sword embedded into the things skull. She then looked at her dress. Part of it was stained with blood. She then heard kafuffle behind her and saw as Traude and Daniela killed a few other reckless goblins before it got to the others. She then heard some yelling and she turned to her left to see a goblin armed with a machete chasing Ottilie. But with lightning reflexes she twirled around and clobbered the goblin right in the skull and it flopped to the ground with a loud crack when Ottilie hit it with the axe.

And then Brianna, realizing the danger she might be in if they stayed here, grabbed her sword and began to tug on the handle. But it wouldn't budge. She looked behind her and saw the goblins coming closer in the distance. Brianna then grabbed the sword with all her might and placed her left foot on the dead goblins head and tugged tightly. The sword finally slid out of the goblins skull and was freed followed by a small spurt of blood as Brianna stumbled back but managed to balance herself. As soon as the sword was free she made a run for it so she could just the others.

But now the girls had a bigger problem. They suddenly found the pathway they were on led to a ledge that dropped all the way down to the foot of the mountain. The girls stopped so suddenly that Barbara almost ran right of the cliff but Daniela and Bertha restrained her just in time and pulled her back. Gillian searched for options. The goblins were coming ever closer from behind, with their screeching and jabbering growing louder and now they were on the edge of a cliff. They couldn't go forward or back. They couldn't go sideways. They were boxed in. Not a good situation to be in.

 _Think old girl, think! There's gotta be another way._ Gillian thought to herself _There has to…wait. Of course!_

"Up into the trees, girls!" she suddenly ordered "It's our only chance!"

"What?!" Traude asked.

"DO AS I SAY!" Gillian roared.

The girls quickly started climbing the trees as best they could. Gillian drew her sword and guarded the girls as they climbed up, all while they did their best to avoid the arrows and throwing weapons being fired at them. Brianna finally caught up with the group and ran up to a tree where Barbara, Bertha, Nadja, Daniela and Bridget were attempting to climb and Beate was standing guard under right next to Gillian. Gillian was very relieved to see Brianna to say the least.

"Up into the trees!" she told her "Come on, Brianna! Climb!"

Brianna attempted to scramble up the tree and would have fallen off except Bridget grabbed her just in time, helped her up with Beate climbing up right behind Brianna leaving Gillian the sole person on the ground.

The goblins were now seconds away from the trees. Gillian decided it was as good a time as any and ran up to the tree where Traude was and she climbed onto the first two branches and Ottilie and Dorothea helped her up just as the goblin pack arrived and one's sword barely missed Gillian's feet. She clambered as high as she could partly thanks to the girls help.

And this was the arrangement the girls were in: on one tree were Barbara, Bertha, Daniela, Nadja, Bridget, Beate and Brianna and on the other was Dorothea, Ottilie, Traude, Gerlinde, Kamilla, Frieda and Ophelia. And at the bottom of the trees were the goblins. Brianna took a moment to look up and what she saw nearly made her jaw drop. From the cave entrance all the way down to the bottom of the trees were seemingly endless rows upon rows of goblins, all with lit torches and armed to the teeth.

They attempted to climb the trees, their claws scratching the oak and ripping the bark off along with some tree sap. But no matter how hard they tried they couldn't climb the trees. The trees shook violently and some loose branches fell off but they just couldn't climb the trees. Some began pushing against trees while the others dug into the ground furiously, ripping roots from the ground and kicking dust and rocks everywhere. But while that did cause the trees to lean just ever so slightly, they still wouldn't budge.

"Cursed dwarvish filth!" barked one of them.

"I can't reach them!" exclaimed another.

Up in the second tree, Gillian looked at Dorothea who looked rather dizzy to say the least.

"I-I'm too old for this." she panted.

"Yeah I know. We've all been there." Dorothea said "Though I admit, a tree is the last place I expected."

The girls observed the horde of goblins surrounding them. They looked more than a little pissed off and the girls could tell the goblins were thirsty for dwarf blood. Nearby the trees on a nearby rock emerged Grinnah, followed by Otto, a slightly deformed eye-patch wearing goblin named Black Eye and a few other goblins. Seeing an opportunity, Grinnah had decided to appoint himself as the temporary leader of the goblins and much to his surprise none of the other goblins really objected. Some exhausted goblins approached their new leader, looking worn out from trying to climb the trees.

"Well, what's the damn holdup?!" Grinnah demanded.

"We can't climb up after 'em!" replied a goblin.

"They're all the way at the top of the trees." said another.

"Stupid dwarves!" snarled a short goblin.

"Great, now what'll we do?" Otto asked.

Just then, a goblin hissed from behind him and Grinnah and they turned around to see the goblin scribe. Grinnah leaned down to hear what he had to say and the scribe suggested something that caused a sadistic, serial killer-esc smile to cross Grinnah's face.

"Ahright boys!" Grinnah ordered "If we can't climb up and get 'em and they won't climb down, guess we'll have to fecking blow them to smithereens!"

This caused the goblins to all cheer and gibber. Now, the girls had no idea what the everloving heck was going on but it couldn't have been anything good. As the goblins slowly backed away from the tree, something caught Gillian's eye. It was an orange moth with black spots on it's wings on a nearby branch. She carefully moved her staff for the moth to walk on. The moth moved onto the tip of the staff and Gillian moved the staff towards her until the moth was just inches away from touching her nose. She then quietly whispered something to the moth, which then nodded it's antennae in response and off it flew.

"What are they doing down there?!" Brianna barked pointed down towards the bottom of the trees.

Gillian and the others looked down and were surprised the goblins had moved even farther back than they expected and some of the larger goblins ran forward carrying red sticks with what seemed like pieces of string and with lightning speed they wrapped them around the bottom of the tree Barbara, Bertha, Daniela, Nadja, Bridget, Beate and Brianna were in and began sticking them also in the small ditches the goblins had made in their struggle to uproot the trees. Some other, smaller goblins strung them onto the bottom of the next door tree. As the goblins fell back towards the others, Grinnah looked to Black Eye (who was so named because the right side of her face was blackened from what looked like a burn wound).

"Let them have it!" he ordered.

Black Eye snickered and motioned for another goblin to light up the tip of one of her arrows, which were a lot as she had at least two quivers strapped on her back and to the side of her belt, all four of which were practically overflowing with arrows. As the arrow was lit, Traude looked down frantically at the bottom of the trees, then to the rest of the girls, then back down again and quickly realized what the goblins had stuck to the tree roots and she gasped sharply in horror.

"SWEET MOTHER OF DURIN THEY HAVE BLOODY DYNAMITE!" she shrieked.

Just as she finished screaming that, Black Eye fired her flaming arrow. It whizzed through the air and as soon as it made contact with the dynamite, it exploded with a loud ka-boom and an eruption of dirt, bark, roots and rocks and literally blew a hole in the tree next to it. Brianna's groups tree shook so violently they almost fell off but managed to hang on just as it began to fall over. The girls quickly began to panic as the tree leaned ever farther and soon it began colliding with the tree next to it, causing that to start falling over. They all quickly jumped onto that tree as the previous tree fell down but then as if things couldn't get any worse, the ground underneath the two trees began giving way and dragging their tree with it.

"Get into our tree!" Gillian called out "Hurry!"

No sooner had Gillian said that the tree Brianna and her group were on began to fall and they wasted no time in jumping onto the tree that Gillian's group was on. Bertha almost slipped when the branch she landed on broke but Beate managed to catch her with Bridget's help just as the other tree slipped away. Now all the girls were in the same tree and watched as the tree Brianna's group were on slipped off the cliff and fell straight down dragging the other tree and a piece of the cliff with it. Above the scene the moon shone brightly and the wind blew through the leaves and through the girl's hair.

Now the girls were all crammed in one tree, with dust now obscuring some of the goblins, who now began moving ever closer towards them. Suddenly, an idea popped up in Gillian's head. It was insane. So insane that it just might work. All over the tree were pinecones and there was a good number of them clambered together nearby her within arm's-reach. Without hesitation, she grabbed a pinecone and rubbed it against her staff and twirled in her hands at the same time and began blowing on it. Some of the girls took notice.

"Gillian, what are you doing?!" Frieda asked.

Within seconds, the pinecone caught fire and Gillian glared at the goblins.

"Enjoy the fireworks!" she bellowed.

And so she threw it directly at the ground near the charging gobins. And the moment the pinecone hit the ground, the twigs and grass around it ignited and were set aflame, along with some unlucky goblins who caught fire like they'd been doused in oil. The rest of the goblins were dumbfounded to say the least. As for the girls, they quickly caught onto what Gillian did, especially Traude.

"Everybody, grab some pinecones and give them to Gillian!" she ordered.

Everyone did as instructed and Gillian helped ignite a few pinecones and gave them to the girls who passed them around for others to ignite. They did so rather quickly and as soon as the pinecones started burning the girls threw them down at the goblins. The girls didn't stop until they'd literally thrown every pinecone in that tree at their enemies, all of which were on fire. Pretty soon a virtual wall of fire surrounded the tree and it only grew as broken down barks and logs ignited. The goblins retreated and shrieked in fear and more than a few were even on fire. The girls on the other hand cheered very loudly. They finally seemed safe from their enemy and they'd get out of this alive.

And then the tree began to crack and lean.


	33. Eagle My Eggos

The girls grabbed onto the tree with all their might as it headed straight down. Suddenly the tree slammed into the cliff and the girls almost fell off due to the impact. Most of them managed to hang on, but when the tree hit the cliff, Dorothea's branch began to break and she almost fell off. Her sisters Nadja and Ottilie (who were on the largest branch just under her) saw this.

"Sister!" Ottilie barked "Hold on!"

"Obviously!" Dorothea barked.

Suddenly, her branch cracked and she plummeted, screaming, downwards. With lightning fast reflexes, Nadja and Ottilie reached out and grabbed Dorothea just as she feel through the smaller branches and tried to grab the larger branch herself. She managed to do so but now she was in the rather bizarre of simultaneously holding onto the branch and her sisters holding onto her.

"T-Try to climb." Nadja strained.

"Girls, hang on!" Gillian said from a few feet away "I'm coming!"

"Hurry!" Ottilie replied "We can't hold onto her for long!"

Gillian carefully maneuvered through the tree branches while making sure she had a branch she could lean on. She then extended her staff outward for Dorothea to grab onto. She managed to grasp onto the staff and was yanked onto the branch, much to her relief. However, that was short lived when the goblins loudly began chittering and chattering again. Everyone looked behind them as best they could to see just what the goblins were doing. Traude, who was near the roots of the tree, clambered up to get a better view. The goblins were loading some arrows with something the girls couldn't see. They then proceeded to fire their arrows again with them landing a few feet away from the tree. Everyone then quickly noticed the dynamite strapped to the arrows...with the fuses almost burned out.

"Grab onto the branches!" Barbara barked.

However, the arrows proceeded to explode almost immediately, causing the fire Gillian started to spread even more. The explosion was also so powerful that it caused Traude to slip off the tree as she tried to grasp onto a branch, just barely able to grab onto it just in time. As she desperately tried to climb back up the tree, some of the group took notice.

"We're coming, Traude!" Daniella yelled.

But as Barbara, Daniella, Gerlinde and Bridget tried getting to her, some of the ground under the tree gave way, causing it to shake and lean downwards even more. As if that wasn't enough, just as Traude began to climb up the branch, it broke it half as she put her feet on it. Now she was dangling by the edge of the branch, with only some bits of bark keeping the branch from completely cracking. At first it looked like she would be able to crawl up the branch as she managed to get a good grip on it. Unfortunately right then the branch snapped with a sharp crack, unable to handle her weight. And for a few seconds, Traude legitimately thought she was going to die. But then she felt someone grab her arm with both hands, preventing her from falling. She looked up and was shocked to see Brianna was the one holding onto her arm.

"I got her!" she barked "Pull me up!"

As it turned out, Barbara, Bridget and Daniella were doing their best to hold onto Brianna while keeping themselves steady on the tree. Bridget then grabbed onto Traude as Brianna helped her up and Daniella and Barbara finished dragging the two back onto the tree, using her oak shield as a way to help get Traude into the tree. Just then the goblins then were on the move again as they began charging towards the tree, weapons drawn. Then as if things couldn't get any worse, Dorothea's own branch was starting to crack due to not being able to handle three dwarves for much longer. But then, Gillian suddenly noticed something fluttering towards her. It was the moth from earlier she'd sent off before this whole kafuffle had started. It hovered just inches away from the tip of her nose, whispering something to her. She hastily nodded in reply and the moth flew off once again. She then looked to Dorothea, Nadja and Ottilie and then back to the branch which was on the verge of cracking. She then slowly began to back away until she was on the main tree.

"G-Gillian?" Ottilie inquired.

"Girls…" she said as she turned to the sisters "…I need you three to jump."

"WHAT?!" The sisters said unanimously.

"Please, just do it!" Gillian barked.

"Are you fecking stupid?!" Dorothea exclaimed rather loudly "Do I look like some suicidal nut-"

Without warning, the branch finally cracked off and the girls fell downwards screaming as they lost their grips on the branch. But then they suddenly landed on something soft and…feathery? And why was it moving?

The sisters quickly realized they were on a truly massive eagle. It had a wingspan as long as a small house and had a yellow, black tipped beak. It also had majestic brown feathers and massive talons on the tips of it's toes.

"Easy there, ma'am." the eagle said "Hang on tight."

The goblins were completely taken by surprise by the sudden loud screeching of the eagles when suddenly one of them swooped in and snatched five goblins at the same time and threw them off the cliff screeching. At the same time, another eagle circled around and smacked into a burning tree with it's talons. The tree fell downwards and crushed two more goblins and a smaller one. The eagles continued pressing their attack, snatching goblins and throwing them off cliffs while others flapped their wings to cause the fire to spread away from the tree and to engulf the other goblins.

Grinnah and his fellow goblins just couldn't believe it. One minute victory was in their hands and his enemy was about to be crushed. Now his army was being decimated in front of him.

One eagle then swooped in and soared over the chaos. Brianna was shocked to see it was coming straight for her. She tried clambering up the tree but it snatched her and Bridget up in it's claws but then as soon as the eagle cleared the cliff it released Brianna and she fell downwards screaming when suddenly she landed on the back of another eagle. The experience coupled with the preceding fight almost gave the poor girl a heart attack.

"Hold on, little hobbit!" the eagle said.

Brianna briefly had to hold back the disbelief of hearing an eagle talk and looked back and observed what was going on. In the distance, the eagles made various swoops and caught members of the company and began carrying them to safety and if any slipped off the tree they were caught by other eagles.

Back on the tree, Gillian was relieved to see the entire group carried off to safety and now she was the only one left on the tree. The ground around the tree finally gave way and she decided it was now or never and she leapt off the tree and closed her eyes. She was very grateful when she landed on the back of the last eagle, who was the leader.

"Glad you could join us, wizard." he said.

Gillian nodded and sighed with relief as if some great weight had been lifted off her chest and she turned around to see the cliff side still glowing from the fire and she could faintly hear the goblins enraged roars and snarls as the eagles headed towards the distant mountains.


	34. Flight to Rocky Cliff

Brianna had gotten no more than a few hours of rest when she was awoken by a blast of bright sunlight. She shook her head to wake herself up and slowly her eyes began adjusting. Last night was such a flurry of excitement and mortal terror that she thought for a moment that it was all a dream. Finally her vision adjusted and she couldn't believe her eyes.

She discovered she was still on the eagle from last night and all around her was a beautiful gold and pink sunrise with the sun just coming up over the mountains. The mountain tops peaked up from the fog just below her and she looked up at the sky again and noticed the eagles all around her, carrying the rest of the company.

 _It wasn't a dream._ she thought _That all happened last night. And…I was a hero._

She then wondered where Traude was. She hadn't seen her since all the commotion last night. She then looked closely at the eagle just across from her and noticed Traude still clutched in the eagle's talons...snoring apparently.

Brianna was so captivated by the view that she didn't even notice how fast the eagles were traveling. Pretty soon she noticed the eagles began to spread out and looked on ahead. She then noticed just at the end of the mountain range there was a large outcropping of rock that seemed big enough for one of these eagles to land on.

"We're about to land, mistress hobbit." the eagle said "I suggest you gather whatever things you have."

"Oh!" Brianna said startled "Thank you…um…sir."

The eagle just rolled his eyes and laughed a rather hearty laugh as he started circling. Pretty soon, Brianna's eagle finally landed and she climbed down carefully making sure she grabbed her things and made sure her sword was still there. It was.

"Stay out of trouble, ma'am" the eagle said just as he took off.

Brianna chuckled slightly as she other eagles began to drop of their passengers. Traude's eagle was about to land when she yawned and woke up. At first, she was flabbergasted to see the ground hundreds of miles below her and moving. She then looked up at the eagle but then it clicked in her brain that she was flying and she whipped her head around to look up at the eagle.

"Morning." the eagle said nonchalantly.

"Put me down this instant!" Traude said.

The eagle sighed. "Alright, if that's what you want."

Halfway towards the ground, the eagle just let Traude go and in a few short seconds she landed on the outcropping with a thud and slid about nine feet before stopping. Her oak shield had slid off and already landed just before she hit the ledge and landed a few feet away from her, which was good because had she landed on it it would have been more than a little damaging to her back. Still, her groaned in irritation as the others clambered over to her, including Frieda and Kamilla.

"Auntie, are you alright?" Kamilla asked softly.

Traude looked to her nieces with a very exhausted look, then sat up, rubbed her left shoulder and winced.

"My shoulder hurts a little." she said before turning to Gillian "So everyone's here?"

"All present and accounted for." Gillian replied softly.

"Even the halfling" Traude asked.

"It's alright." Gillian laughed "Brianna's here. Safe and sound."

By now the eagles had dropped off all the girls and the last ones had just taken off and were now flying around nearby. Barbara, Bertha and Daniela were quick to help Traude get back on her feet and handed her Orcrist while she slipped her shield back over her shoulder before turning to look at Brianna who had not moved from her place the entire time.

"You!" Traude said angrily to the shock of everyone "Are you mad?! You nearly got us both killed on that tree!"

Brianna gulped nervously. She hadn't expected Traude to react like that.

"Traude, wait!" Bertha protested "There's no need to be-"

"I'm not done yet!" Traude said as she walked towards Brianna, never once tearing her eyes off her and keeping that same cross expression "Did I not say that you would be a burden? That you would not survive in the wild? That you had no place amongst me or my kin?"

By now Traude was right in front of Brianna and the hobbit gulped and pulled a hair strand back as she bit her lip and first looked at the drawn Orcrist sword (with her mind quickly imaging that thing being used on her) and then at Traude right in the eyes.

"Y-Yes." she stammered "That's what you said."

"I've only have one answer to that." Traude said sternly.

Everyone nervously waited to see what Traude was going to do next. But to Brianna's surprise, Traude's expression changed from that of anger to gratefulness and her eyes suddenly started welling up with tears and she sheathed her sword.

"I was never proven more wrong." she said as her voice broke.

And then, without warning, she suddenly pulled Brianna into a hug and held her like she was a long lost friend. Traude then found herself smiling and tears streaming down her face, even more so when Brianna smiled herself and returned the hug. Traude then sighed and then the two girls broke the hug.

"Thanks for saving me back there. I owe you one." Traude said Traude said "I'm...so sorry that I have doubted you."

"No, it's alright." Brianna said comfortingly "Besides I'm not a hero. Or a warrior."

"But you're one of us." Beate suddenly piped up "And that's good enough for me."

Traude and Brianna looked at Beate and smiled, with everyone agreeing with Beate, including Nadja giving her a pat on the back.

"But I'm probably not that good a burglar to be honest." Brianna said as she noticed how beat up and dirty her dress looked and sighed through her nose "My dress can attest to that."

Then Traude did something else that surprised Brianna. She started laughing. It was a very soft laugh but maybe that's what surprised Brianna about it. That it was a gentle, soft laugh like a child's. Traude looked to the ground and wiped away a tear on her right cheek.

"Why are you laughing?" Brianna inquired.

"Oh, nothing." Traude said before turning her head up to look at Brianna again "It's just that…you're so honest about yourself. It's rather silly."

Suddenly the biggest of the eagles (who was the leader) landed just behind Brianna and bowed respectfully and all the girls curtsied as best they could.

"Thank you for your help, my friend." Gillian said.

"Not a problem, wizard." the eagle said in a deep, commanding yet friendly voice "May whatever journey you're on be successful."

"Thank you." Traude replied.

"Excuse me, my good bird...friend..rescuer?" Bridget exclaimed as she raised her hand "Not be a complainer or anything, but would you care to fly us up to the mountain?"

The eagle leader didn't respond at first, surprised that anyone even made such a request but he decided it was best to just be honest.

"No." he replied bluntly "We can carry you a little of the way but no further. Wouldn't want to scare the farmers that live in the lowlands."

The dwarves muttered in agreement, having to accept the eagle had a point. And really he was an eagle the size of a small house so it seemed useless arguing with him.

"I suggest you rest up a little." the eagle leader said as he took off "In the meantime, enjoy the view!"

The girls saw as the eagles re-group and flew off to the mountains just behind them. Brianna took the eagles advice and looked at the rest of the land just ahead. The pink and yellow sky was indeed beautiful to behold and most everything beyond the rock disappeared into a fog along with…wait a minute.

"Girls." she said in amazement "Look. Is that what I think it is?"

The girls turned to see what Brianna was talking about and all gasped in shock. They then all walked up to where Brianna was and looked out over the horizon.

"Oh my goodness." Traude said with a gasp.

There, in the distance, rising above the fog and landscape, was the Lonely Mountain itself. It looked so far and yet at the same time so close by. The girls just couldn't believe it. Their journey was almost over.

"Erebor." Gillian said proudly "The last of the great dwarf kingdoms of Middle-Earth."

"I can't believe it." Frieda said with a look of pure awe on her face "Even from here, it looks amazing."

"Yes." Traude replied never once looking away from the mountain "Yes it does, Frieda."

The girl's concentration was broken by the sudden sound of chirping. They all looked up to see a small brown and white bird who was chirping happily and they're eyes followed the bird as it soon headed towards the direction of the Lonely Mountain.

"It's a raven!" Ophelia said "The birds are returning to the mountain."

The girls all suddenly started chuckling and Ophelia was perplexed by the whole thing. Then Gillian laughed and patted Ophelia on the shoulder.

"That my dear Ophelia is a thrush." Gillian said "You must learn to tell your birds apart."

"Well, it doesn't really matter what kind of bird it is." Dorothea said.

"Wait…a thrush!" Barbara said excitedly "The poem!"

"What about it?" Traude asked.

"Don't you remember?" Barbara replied "'Stand by the grey stone when the thrush knocks!'"

"Where did you hear that?" Ottilie asked.

"On the map!" Barbara said "When Lady Edyta read the moon-runes."

Ottilie smacked herself on the head. "Son of a...that's why I couldn't read it!"

"Yeah, you think you'd know that." Nadja said.

"Well then I guess we'll take it as a sign." Traude said "A good omen."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Brianna chuckled "I do believe the worst is behind us."

Gillian expression changed slightly when Brianna said that. They still had a long way to go and she had a feeling more perils awaited them, especially if Ramona's story about Dol Guldur was true.


	35. An Un-Bearable Surprise

Brianna and Beate were safely concealed behind the rocks but they weren't taking any chances. Just ahead, they could see the sunlight gleaming off of a cliffside in the distance. It had been a week since the eagles rescued them from the goblins and yet everyone was on edge. They'd figured the goblins would still want them dead after they'd killed their king and were on high alert. But what Brianna could see, there wasn't any signs of goblins.

"Do you see anything?" Beate asked.

"Nah. Doesn't look like anythings following us." she whispered "Go join the others. I'll join you in a second."

Beate nodded and rushed off as fast as she could while doing her best to stay quiet. Brianna started to leave herself when suddenly she heard a deep, low growl and stopped dead in her tracks. Sweat flowed down her cheeks from her forehead as she turned around to see what made the sound and she almost audibly gasped. Just across from her was a massive black bear who at the shoulders alone stood at least two feet taller than Gillian with her hat on. He wasn't looking at Brianna but he was staring out into the distance, as if he was looking at or for something. But Brianna wasn't going to take any chances and she rushed away as fast as her legs could carry her down the hill. She almost felt her heart jump out of her chest when the bear suddenly roared a loud roar and she bolted straight the hill as fast as possible.

At the bottom of the hill, the girls sat waiting for her. Ottilie had taken time to sit down and do some sketching in her journal of some birds she'd seen earlier. Just then, Brianna came barreling down the hill and nearly tripped over herself.

"She's back!" Beate exclaimed.

"Thank goodness you're not hurt." Bertha said.

"How close are they?" Traude demanded "Did you see them?"

"No. They don't seem to be following us." Brianna panted "We've got a much bigger problem."

"Did you see a pack of orcs?" Gillian piped up with a surprising sense of dread in her voice.

"N-No." Brianna said.

"Thank heavens!" Gillian said with a sigh "What did I tell you girls? Quiet as a mouse she is."

All the girls agreed with Gillian and started having a good laugh. Brianna wasn't having any of this. They hadn't seen what she'd seen.

"I'm not finished yet!" Brianna barked "I'm trying to tell you there's something else out there!"

"What else could be out there?" Bridget inquired.

"Well…it's kind of hard to describe." Brianna replied "It's some kind of large monster with black fur all over it."

Gillian then suddenly began to feel very concerned about this. She thought back to that roar they'd heard a few moments before Brianna had arrived. The girls had assumed it was just a warg. But it couldn't be. It was far too deep to be a wargs. And far too loud as well. Then there was that…black fur. It suddenly clicked in Gillian's brain.

"What form did it take?" she asked.

"Beg your pardon?" Brianna inquired.

"This monster you saw." Gillian responded "What kind of form did it take? Was it like a bear?"

Brianna suddenly looked very flabbergasted. Gillian hadn't gone up with her and Beate and yet she seemed to have seen this thing too.

"Y-Yes." Brianna said finally "But bigger. Much bigger. Almost twice your height."

The girls all suddenly gasped and at Gillian with perplexed and upset looks.

"Wait so…you KNEW about this beast?!" Bertha demanded.

"Not exactly." Gillian replied.

"Yes you did!" Nadja insisted "Why else would you react that way?"

"I was making sure." Gillian responded.

"Making sure my heinie!" Bridget barked "You must have some kind of psychic wizard powers! You knew that thing was there but didn't want to tell us!"

"Alright, knock it off!" Barbara ordered "We all need a plan."

"I say we double back." Ottilie piped up.

"Good luck with that." Frieda said "If the goblins are after us, they'll ambush us once it get's dark."

"But it's only the early afternoon." Ophelia pointed out.

"But autumn's already here by now." Gerlinde replied "The day's will be getting shorter."

"That's just perfect." Daniella said rolling her eyes sarcastically "Even astronomy hates us."

"Salami hates us?" Ophelia said as she adjusted her hearing trumpet "Why? What did we ever do to it?"

"Oh stop it, you ninny." Gerlinde barked "You know, what she meant."

During this bickering, Gillian thought about what to do and thought over their options. They had now entered the Wilderland, an untamed and largely unpopulated part of Middle-Earth. Except for one rather reclusive fellow. It seemed a big risk given his opinions on dwarves but it felt like a safe bet given their situation. She cleared her throat right as Gerlinde corrected her sister and everyone shut up.

"Girls, I think I may have a solution." Gillian said in a calm but firm voice "There is a house not far from here where we might find shelter. I think I know it's occupant."

"Are they friend or foe?" Bridget demanded.

"Neither." Gillian said dryly "Basically, he will help us or…"

She paused for a second to scratch an itch on the back her neck.

"Or what?" Bertha demanded.

"He will help us or…he will kill us." Gillian replied.

Everyone gasped and murmured among themselves to see whether or not Gillian's idea would work or even if it was an idea in general or just some crazed death wish.

"What choice do we have?" Traude asked.

As if to answer that question, the bear suddenly roared again a loud roar only this time it sounded much closer. The girls almost all jumped in shock with Beate becoming so scared she instantly grabbed Bertha's arm and held on tightly. The girls then they all turned to Gillian and wondered what she had to say about the matter.

"None." she said "Better start running, ladies."


	36. House Warming Bear Gowns

The bears loud, deep roar echoed through the hills and trees as the girls ran as fast as their legs could carry them.

"COME ON!" Gillian ordered "FASTER!"

The girls tried as best they could to go even faster than they were already but it was hard due to all the trees around them and with the trees being so close together. They'd ran all the way from the hill they were at earlier that day and through a field and now we're in a nearby forest. As they neared the edge of the forest, they stopped to take a breath and they all almost collapsed when they stopped but didn't sit down for fear they'd pass out.

"I-I-I can't…keep…r-running." Bridget panted.

"W-Where's the house?" Barbara said "Can any…anyone see it?"

"I see it!" Kamilla barked "It's just ahead in the clearing!"

The second she finished the sentence they heard that loud roar again. And it sounded louder and closer than it did a few minutes ago. Everyone's hairs on the back of their necks stood up and then they looked behind them and then to the house.

"Don't just stand there!" Traude yelled "Let's go! Follow Gillian!"

Everyone immediately started running except Bridget whose fear was getting the best of her and she was still staring behind the girls, which is usually something Beate would do when faced with say a Warg. Bertha wasn't having any of this and grabbed her sister by the shoulder part of her rather large gown.

"Sister, come on!" Bertha said as they both started running "No time to freeze up!"

At last the girls cleared the forest and were now running through the clearing filled with green and golden grass and they finally got a look at the house as they approached it. It was a rather large house with a straw and pine roof and with most of it made out of stone. Lining the doorway were about four beehives, two on each side. The house itself was surrounded by a giant kudzu hedge wall with a twelve foot high and fifteen foot wide entrance cut in a perfect square and around the house on the walls inside were a few oak trees.

The girls couldn't enjoy it, however, due to the immense fear they were experiencing. Gillian made it to the entrance first and stopped to let the others through. The bear's roar echoed from the woods again, with it sounding much closer and accompanied by the sound of crashing bushes and twigs.

"Get inside! Go!" she ordered "Careful now!"

Traude, Bridget, Frieda and Kamilla made it to the doorway first with Bridget slamming right into the door (breaking her nose in the process) and hitting the ground with a thud.

Back at the entrance, the only ones left to pass through were Beate, Brianna and Bertha. Without warning, Beate suddenly tripped and landed at Gillian's feet and Bertha and Brianna stopped and turned back around and rushed to help her back on her feet.

"Oh crap!" Frieda called out from up ahead.

"What is it now?!" Gillian said exasperated as she turned to the girls.

"The door's stuck!" Frieda replied "It won't open!"

"Duh! Because it's locked!" Nadja barked.

Just as Brianna, Bertha and Beate passed by Gillian all four of them suddenly heard a very loud crashing and turned to see the bear jump out of the bushes and it then roared so loud that Beate almost had a heart attack and all four ran for the door and as they passed by the first oak tree Gillian turned to see the bear running faster than any bear she'd ever seen. He was now only a few feet from the entrance.

"Fecking shite!" Gillian exclaimed before turning to the girls who were attempting to lift the wooden block that kept the door shut "Open the door!"

"Heads up!" Daniela yelled confidently.

And then with a mighty whack she broke the block in half and the door flew open and everyone poured in like chickens when the feed is spilled on the hen house floor. The second Gillian passed through the girls scrambled to shut the door.

But the bear got to the door first.

Just as the door shut the bear slammed into it and roared so loud the girls were almost thrown backwards but they pushed against the bear with all their might. Brianna was just behind the group with Gillian and the two got a good look at the bear's face.

It was just as Brianna described. It had jet black fur and was almost as high as the hedge gate entrance. It's face and snout were covered with scars, some of which looked recent. It remind Brianna of the scary monsters she'd heard in fairy tales. And she didn't want to think of those, not after the nightmares she suffered as a little kid from those stories. She quickly drew her sword and held it out to protect herself in case the bear managed to break through.

That didn't happen though as the girls finally managed to grab a wooden block identical to the one Daniela had smashed and blocked the door, inadvertently locking it and just in case they slammed against the door with their combined weight. The bear then did one more defiant slam against the door and Dorothea, Bridget and Gerlinde were thrown back and they scrambled towards Brianna and Gillian.

They then heard the bear moan through the door and heard it's footsteps back away.

"I think he stopped." Ophelia said.

The girls all sighed with relief and flopped to the floor. Gillian then looked to Brianna who hadn't sheathed her sword at all.

"Brianna, I think you can sheathe your sword now." Gillian said "It's alright."

Brianna sighed and sheathed her sword. Traude then sighed.

"Good heavens. My heart's beating like a drum because of that." she wheezed before briefly chuckling along with Frieda and Kamilla.

"Wait..where's Beate?" Bertha demanded anxiously.

Everyone looked around. Beate had somehow been left unaccounted for when the bear slammed the door. She was quickly discovered by Brianna and Gillian under a nearby table, but looked a little worse for wear. Her breathing was somewhat labored and she was shaking all over, clenching her spear as tightly as possible and trying not to cry.

"It's alright, Beate." Gillian said in a comforting, soft tone "You can come out now."

"Y-Y-Yes ma'am." Beate stammered as she got up.

Bertha quickly ran over to her cousin and helped her sit down on the floor. Bridget hastily grabbed a blanket and made sure to wrap it around Beate, who was now starting to calm down but still wouldn't let go of the spear.

"There, there." Bertha said reassuringly "It's okay. It can't get you."

"I'm sorry." Beate responded as she wiped away a stubborn tear "I-I-I should have helped with the door. B-But I got knocked back and I panicked." She moaned as she slapped her hand on her head "I'm so bloody stupid and useless."

"Beate, it's okay." Bridget replied in a surprisingly gentle voice "We were all scared. Bears tend to do that."

"Damn...right...they do." Nadja piped up as she caught her breath.

"What kind of bear even was that?" Ottilie inquired "Never seen one like that."

"That was our host." Gillian responded.

Everyone suddenly turned to Gillian and looked at her with surprised looks.

"WHAT?!" they all but screamed.

"I understand why you're shocked but that is indeed our host." Gillian replied doing her best to stay in control of the situation. "His name is Beorn. And he is a skin-changer."

"A-A what?" Beate stammered.

"A skin-changer." Gillian said "He's actually a rather large man believe it or not but most of the time he's a huge black bear. The bear in fact we have just encountered."

"The pear?" Ophelia asked.

"Bear!" Gerlinde snarled "B-E-A-R! Bear!"

"Don't yell!" Ophelia barked "I was just kidding with you."

"So you're seriously saying this Beorn is a bear?" Barbara asked.

"Of course I am." Gillian replied "Now the bear is unpredictable but the man can be reasoned with. However…he's not overfond of dwarves."

Gillian stopped talking for a moment to observe the inside of the house. It was a rather large house with big wooden pillars holding up the roof and just ahead was a rather large table that was made of solid oak and was well over thirteen feet long and six feet wide. It had several dozen chairs around the table and just ahead of the table was a stone fireplace and just to the left of the table was a bed as wide and large as the table.

Just to the right of the bed and directly between the bed and table was a single room with the door closed. But what perplexed everyone the most was the fact that his entire house was crawling with animals. Specifically, about four or five cows, three goats and some white mice scattering across the floor. There was even a parrot perched right on the bed stand at the end of the bed.

"He seems to prefer the company of animals to people." Gerlinde said.

"Yes indeed." Traude said.

Ottilie, meanwhile, had walked towards the door and peeked through a crack in the door and saw as Beorn walked away from the house and headed back for the woods.

"He's leaving everyone!" she said turning to the others.

"Ottilie! Come away from there!" Dorothea exclaimed as she came over and dragged her sister away.

"It ain't natural. None of it." Nadja piped up "It's obvious that this Beorn you speak of was cursed by some enchantress."

"Don't be a fool." Gillian hissed "He's under no enchantment but his own."

"Oh that takes a load off my mind." Dorothea said her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Well, everyone, you'd better get some rest and prepare for evening." Gillian ordered "With any luck, we'll be safe here tonight."

Everyone did as instructed and began double-checking their bags to make sure they had their supplies. They were running low on food much to Bridget's worry and they still needed to wash some of the clothes, which they got to right away. By the time sunset rolled around, their clothes were being dried by the fireplace after they'd washed them. They also got to finishing off some of their rations to make sure they didn't go to waste. Traude, meanwhile, had retreated into the bathroom to change and to have some time to herself.

The sun shone brightly through the bathroom window as Traude finished changing into her nightgown. It had been a long day and frankly, she couldn't wait to get some rest. It was a simple bathroom with one sink, a mirror and the single largest bathtub she'd ever seen built into the wall nearby. She then let her hair down gently and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Just behind her on a rack hung her shawl which she had a feeling she'd be making a scarf out of in the winter.

When last they'd seen the Lonely Mountain, up on the eagle's nest, it seemed to close. Though she didn't show it, Traude secretly could barely contain her excitement at the prospect that they'd reach the mountain sooner then expected. She was going to do it. She was going to slay Smaug the Terrible and re-take her home. She was going to make her father proud.

Her father…she wished he could have seen her now. Seen how she'd led the company this far. Seen his two granddaughters Frieda and Kamilla grow up into the brave young women they were now. If only he hadn't disappeared during the Battle of Moria.

A knock suddenly came at the door and she gasped in surprise.

"Come in." she said.

The door opened to reveal Brianna of all people with her own nightgown wrapped around her left arm like a towel. Traude then lowered her head to look at the floor.

"I just wanted to know if you were done." she said "I wanted to change."

"Oh." Traude said softly not even bothering to look at Brianna "Okay then."

"Traude, is everything alright?" Brianna asked with concern.

"Um…no not really." Traude said "I just thinking."

"About what?" Brianna inquired.

Traude sighed and rubbed her forehead. It was clear Brianna wasn't going to leave. And yet strangely, Traude didn't want her to go. She suddenly felt the need to tell what exactly happened.

"My father." she finally said looking towards Brianna.

"Oh." Brianna said "I see. I've wondered…were you close to him?"

Traude simply nodded. She then noticed Brianna wasn't going away and then Brianna quietly entered the bathroom and shut the door behind her.

"What?" Traude asked.

"What actually happened to your father?" Brianna inquired "I wasn't there at Moria. But you were. So I thought you'd know."

"I do. But only a little." Traude replied softly "I-It was after my grandfather was beheaded. I was trying to charge at Azog but my father stopped me. He told me that he wasn't going to let that orc take my life or the life of my sister. He told me to stay behind. He led a charge against Azog and…and…"

"And then what?" Brianna asked quietly.

"He never came back." Traude said somberly as her voice broke.

Brianna gasped at this. Maybe Barbara was right when she told the story around the campfire over a month ago. Maybe Traude's father was dead. And Traude's broken-hearted face seemed to confirm this.

"They told me my father was gone. He was one of the dead." Traude continued somberly "But I didn't believe them. I searched through the entire battlefield. Every last body. And he wasn't there." she suddenly got a somber look on his face "But my brother was."

"Your brother?" Brianna asked.

Traude nodded, desperately trying to fight back the tears.

"Y-Yes." she said as her voice broke again "Frerin."

"You never told me." Brianna pointed out.

"I don't like to talk about Frerin." Traude responded somberly "He always looked after me and Dis when my father couldn't. Now...now he's gone as well."

A tear finally slipped out of Traude's right eye and Brianna wrung her hands nervously. She then cleared her throat.

"So…your father." Brianna inquired "He escaped?"

"To this day I'm still not sure what exactly happened." Traude replied "But I've never stopped looking for him. I know he's alive. I know it."

Traude suddenly noticed that she'd started crying. She wiped the tears from her cheeks and hoped Brianna didn't notice. She then looked to Brianna and could see Brianna was greatly concerned over her.

"I'm sorry you had to see that." she said as she sat down by the bathtub and leaned against it with her arms wrapped around herself.

"No. It's alright." Brianna said "It was my fault. I wanted to know the truth and now I do. But if it helps, I think your father would probably be very proud of you."

"Really?" Traude sniffled.

"From how you describe him, I think so." Brianna said smiling.

Traude then sighed and then found herself smiling again as she looked to Brianna, the sunset casting a beautiful glow over her hair as well as her own.

"Thank you Brianna." she said as she stood up "I really appreciate that."

Brianna bit her lip and then looked to her left arm. Her nightgown was still hanging around it. She'd forgotten to put it on.

"Oh my goodness, will you look at that!" she chuckled "I forgot to put on my gown!"

"Well, I'll just get out of your way." Traude said as she moved towards the door and Brianna stepped to the side to let her pass.

And with that Traude left the room and shut the door without saying another word, leaving Brianna to change into her gown.


	37. A Lovely Night

That night, as the moon shone brightly in the sky, Beorn remained in his bear form as he patrolled the forest edge near his home. He could smell danger, even though he couldn't see it. It wasn't far off but they seemed to be keeping their distance. He wasn't going to take any chances, however, and so he kept his eyes peeled for any signs of trouble.

Back in the house, the girls were all laying down, wrapped in their blankets, on the floor nearby two pillars which were close together. They were also behind a smaller table which was the one Beate hid under when Beorn charged at the door which also had a rather large chessboard which was set out and some mice squeaked and walked through it.

Frieda felt like only one of the girls who couldn't sleep. She stared up at the ceiling and tiredly looked at the moon shining through some windows and some holes in the roof. Everyone's snoring was driving her nuts. She decided to find out if she was the only one awake and turned to her sister who had her back turned towards her.

"Kamilla!" she hissed.

"What?" Kamilla replied groggily.

"You awake?" Frieda asked.

"If I wasn't I wouldn't have responded to your question." Kamilla said turning to face her sister "So yes I am awake. What's wrong?"

"I can't sleep." Frieda said "Everyone's snoring rather loudly."

"I know the feeling." Kamilla said "I can't sleep myself."

"Seems we share the same hatred of people snoring." Frieda chuckled.

"No it's not that." Kamilla said "But that is annoying."

"Oh my, what have you been thinking of?" Frieda asked suddenly interested.

"No it's silly." Kamilla said "Go back to sleep."

Frieda then propped herself so that she sat up and leaned against the wooden pillar and glared at her sister who was still looking up at her.

"Kamilla, I'm not going to bed until you tell me what's bothering you." Frieda barked.

Kamilla sighed in defeat and then propped herself up to that she was also sitting up. She couldn't keep anything from Frieda. But that tends to happen when you have a big sister. She wrapped her arms around herself and looked up at the roof.

"Well, I've been thinking lately about something." she said softly "If and when we take back Erebor, I want to do something auntie hasn't. Something bold."

"What?" Frieda asked.

"I want to get married." Kamilla replied as she turned to her sister.

"Really?" Frieda inquired a bit surprised.

"I knew you'd find it silly." Kamilla replied "But it's something I want to do. I see all of our friends back home with their children and well, my birthday passed before we joined auntie's quest. I've been spending a lot of time thinking and…"

"You've been wondering if you're ready for marriage." Frieda inquired.

Kamilla nodded. "It's so strange though. I do admit I envy Gerlinde in a way. How come she has a daughter and a family, yet I don't?" she rubbed her forehead with irritation and sighed "Why does life have to be so vexing?"

"I honestly don't know." Frieda chuckled before placing her hand on her sister's shoulder "But what I do know is that you shouldn't give up hope. Trust me. Someday the perfect man for you will come along."

Kamilla looked to her sister and smiled. Even over something as simple as this, Frieda was always there for her.

"As long as it's not an elf, right?" Brianna of all people piped up.

Frieda and Kamilla were shocked that Brianna was awake.

"We didn't wake you did we?" Frieda inquired.

"Maybe a little but I was awake anyway." Brianna said as she yawned "Sorry I interrupted you."

"Ah no harm no foul." Kamilla replied softly.

"Better get some shut-eye." Frieda yawned "Nighty night."

"Night." Kamilla and Brianna responded.

But Brianna didn't immediately go to sleep. After making sure Kamilla and Frieda had turned away from her and went back to sleep, she reached into her dress pocket and pulled out the ring she'd found in the goblin tunnels. She held it close to her face to get a good look at it as she hadn't been able to since she found it in those tunnels.

The ring still shone in the moonlight and amazingly was stain and dirt free despite being in her pocket for about a week. Brianna didn't want anyone else to know about this ring. It was hers. Her little secret. This ring was…wait a minute.

Brianna suddenly got an uneasy feeling as she twirled the ring with her fingers. She got the feeling that somehow she was being watched. And it felt as if the ring was talking. Talking to her. She felt compelled to put it on again.

A creak in the wood almost caused her to gasp in fright but she managed to control herself and quickly stashed the ring back into her dress pocket. She ducked and then decided it would be best to go to sleep. Or at least try to.

The creak it turns out came from Dorothea rolling around as she woke up. She was awakened by the most mundane sound she could imagine. Her stomach was growling. She looked around then at her stomach and rolled her eyes.

"Oh come on." Dorothea moaned while rubbing the side of her head.

She then propped herself up and yawned. She then moved the blanket off and got up and shook the hay off her gown as best she could. She then picked up her shawl and wrapped it around herself and she carefully moved around the other girls who were fast asleep. Once she was past the girls she looked around for a kitchen. The moon luckily was bright enough that when it shone through the windows and holes in the roof she could see what was around her.

She looked all around but couldn't find the kitchen. But then she looked closely to the dining tables right and sure enough there was the kitchen. It amazed her how the owner of this house had managed to cram his kitchen right next to the dining table.

Dorothea was surprised to hear a groan come from her right and she turned to see her sister Nadja squinting tiredly at her.

"Sis?" she moaned "What are you doing up?"

"I was hungry and was looking for the kitchen." Dorothea replied.

"Isn't it over there?" Nadja said motioning to where Dorothea had been looking.

Dorothea rolled her eyes. "Yes thank you, Nadja." she said sarcastically "I couldn't have found without you."

"No need to be so sarcastic." Nadja moaned "You take yourself too seriously all the time anyway. You're almost as bad as Traude."

"I do not." Dorothea hissed "I only act 'serious' because mom and dad left me in charge of you and Ottilie. Don't be so naive."

A bears growl suddenly came from outside. Though it was faint, Dorothea could hear it and she gasped in fright and Nadja's eyes suddenly opened all the way and she looked to her sister who scrambled to the pillar whilst making sure not to step on anyone. She then crouched down right next to Nadja who slid over to Dorothea's feet.

"That bear's back!" Nadja hissed "We're dead meat."

"Quiet!" Dorothea whispered "Keep your head down."

Nadja lay down and shut up like a clam. The door suddenly creaked open and Dorothea peeked from behind the pillar carefully to make sure she wasn't seen.

A tall figure then entered through the door as moonlight poured into the house. Fortunately, the girls stayed in shadow but Dorothea wasn't taking any chances. She continued to look at the person, whom she assumed was Beorn. But suddenly she began looking for different reasons.

The moonlight illuminated Beorn's figure. He was indeed a very tall man almost as tall as his doorway. From what she could she could see from his silhouette, he seemed to have a short cut beard. His hands also looked massive, big enough to wrap around his own head even. But she was also able to catch a glimpse of his eyes. They seemed to be blue. A soft, gentle shade of blue.

For reasons she couldn't understand, she couldn't tear her eyes away. There was something about Beorn that seemed…interesting.

Beorn was in the meantime busy seemingly looking for something and he seemed to have found it because she soon headed for the door carrying a knapsack. And with that he walked out and shut the door behind him and the room became dark again. Dorothea then sighed a massive sigh of relief and Nadja turned around to see the closed door and looked up at her sister who then looked at her.

"Boy that was a close one." Nadja said "He almost spotted us."

"I think he was distracted with other things." Dorothea said.

"Yeah right." Nadja said "So what did he look like? Did you get a good look at 'em?"

Dorothea bit her lip. She couldn't tell her sister that she was staring at him the way she had been. She'd never hear the end of it. Especially after Nadja told her she took everything so seriously.

"No not really." she said (and her defense she really didn't get a good look at him).

Nadja yawned and rubbed her eyes. "That's a relief."

Dorothea chuckled softly. "You should probably get to bed. And so should I."

"Well, good night, sis." Nadja said as she got comfortable "Sweet dreams."

"You too." Dorothea yawned as she stretched her arms and lay herself back down on the hay covered floor.

Dorothea soon fell fast asleep and didn't even notice that she was smiling as she fell asleep. Whoever this Beorn was, he had ignited her interest and she needed to know more about him. Even if she had to talk to him directly herself.


	38. Bearmance at First Sight

Brianna was sleeping soundly when she suddenly felt something fuzzy touch her nose. She groggily woke up to see a massive bee on her nose. She carefully and gently wiggled her nose not wanting to aggravate the bee. The bee soon flew away buzzing as it went and Brianna quickly got up and brushed the hay off her dress. She then looked to her side and saw her clothes and pack placed right next to her. She looked behind her and saw all the girls gathered around the kitchen table discussing something she couldn't hear.

Dorothea then popped up behind Brianna from a pillar, fully dressed with a soft colored flower dress with her shawl wrapped round her arms. She then tapped Brianna on the shoulder and Brianna gasped when she saw her.

"Oh I'm terribly sorry." Dorothea said "I didn't mean to startle you."

"No it's alright." Brianna chuckled.

"W-Would you mind telling the others I'm outside?" Dorothea asked.

"Sure." Brianna said.

"Thank you so much." Dorothea said before she walked off and headed for the door.

Brianna then smiled and then ran towards the kitchen to where the others were and finally caught up on their conversation. Dorothea meanwhile carefully walked out of the door and then looked straight ahead of her. Beorn was just ahead of her, chopping wood rather loudly. She could now see from behind that he had shorter hair then she thought and he was wearing a bright white undershirt. He had a pitcher of water and a cup on a nearby table, presumably for when he finished chopping wood. She quietly approached him and every time his axe came down on a new block of wood she shuddered but didn't stop walking until she was just two feet behind him. But it was then she got a good look at his back and quietly gasped.

Even with the undershirt, she could see almost half his back was covered in nasty scars and some extending to his arms. She'd seen scars like that after vicious battles, which led to her understandably wondering what kind of life Beorn had lived. Yet she also felt sorry for him and felt the urge to offer some kind of comfort. She regained her composure and took a deep breath.

 _Come on, stupid!_ she thought _Just say hello! It's so easy._

Beorn slammed his ax so hard that it actually became dented slightly in the tree stump even after the wood he was chopping was cut in half. Dorothea tried not to gasp and she tried again to relax as he picked up yet another block of wood.

 _Say something!_ she angrily berated herself in her thoughts.

As Beorn chopped the piece of wood in half, she noticed his breathing was starting to become sharp and labored.

"You should stop." she said finally.

Strangely he didn't continue chopping wood but rather looked as if he was staring out at something in the distance.

"Beg your pardon?" he asked in a surprisingly average voice considering his alter ego.

"I-I said you should stop and rest." Dorothea nervously responded "It's bad for your heart if you don't."

Beorn didn't reply but instead walked over to his water pitcher, poured himself a glass and chugged it down, before taking a cloth from his pants pocket and wiping his brow.

Back at the house, the girls were watching Dorothea and Beorn from the back door and windows of the house while Bertha was watching from the window closest to the door. They'd all rushed over there the moment Brianna had told them Dorothea was outside less than two minutes ago. Nadja and Ottilie looked as if they'd die of fright.

"What the hell is wrong with her?!" Nadja hissed.

"She's lost her mind she has!" Gerlinde whispered

"What'll we do?" Ottilie demanded quietly.

"Let's get her back inside and run for the hills!" Bridget barked quietly.

"No!" Gillian hissed "That would be the worst thing you could possibly do!"

"And why is that?" Traude asked.

"Because the last person who startled him was torn to shreds!" Gillian replied.

Beate gasped and clapped her hands over her mouth. Brianna bit her lip nervously. Even Traude seemed concerned about this.

"We need him to help us pass through Wilderland or else we'll be hunted down." Gillian said.

Barbara shushed them. "Hang on girls, look."

As Beorn finished his drink, Dorothea decided to speak up.

"I'm terribly sorry to disturb you." Dorothea said "But I just wanted to know who you are. You are Beorn are you not?"

"Yes I am." Beorn finally replied "But I'm not entirely sure who you are."

Dorothea suddenly found herself wringing her hands nervously. She bit her lip and exhaled softly. So far, so good. She didn't want to mess this up.

"Well, my name is Dorothea." she said "And you see I'm-"

She suddenly slapped her left hand over her mouth. She suddenly remembered what Gillian had said when they'd arrived. 'He's not overfond of dwarves.' she'd said. And now, Dorothea looked as white as a sheet.

 _You can't tell him you're a dwarves._ she thought _No telling what he'll do_.

Beorn turned around to face her, with a very suspicious look on his face. Dorothea looked up at him but then suddenly her fear died away and her hand dropped back to her side while her mouth was still hanging open.

Beorn was not at all like how Dorothea imagined. He was somewhat ripped (a given considering he was a skin-changer) but the part that caught her attention was his face. He had a short, smoothly cut, albeit dirty dark colored beard and short hair of the same color and he had bright blue eyes (one of which had a small scar close to it). Dorothea's heartbeat suddenly accelerated and her cheeks slowly started turning red while she got an unusual feeling in her stomach.

 _Wow._ she thought _He's...so handsome._

"You're a dwarf." Beorn growled "Why are you here?!"

Dorothea was snapped back into reality and she mustered up what little courage she could and she began trying to think of a good answer. Beorn meanwhile looked at this dwarf woman. Her golden hair gleamed in the sunlight and her eyes were a lovely hazel color. And she didn't seem to be threatening him as she wasn't carrying any weapons. Just a shawl she had wrapped around her arms. Dorothea briefly turned her held gaze away from Beorn and looked at the house. She couldn't tell him how many of them there were in the house and she knew that aggravating a man of Beorn's size and strength wasn't the best move.

Dorothea cleared her throat "I know you don't like dwarves but please hear me out. I just wanted to say thank you."

"For what?" Beorn inquired.

"For letting us stay in your house." Dorothea replied as she slowly relaxed.

During this, the girls had been frightened out of their minds since Beorn had stopped chopping wood. It was even harder as they were trying to stay quiet. As Dorothea and Beorn started chatting, the others debated what to do next.

"If he harms one hair on our sister's head I'll tear him apart!" Ottilie whispered.

"Agreed!" Daniela said.

"Enough of this!" Gillian hissed "I will handle this myself."

"How?" Brianna inquired.

"I'll speak with him myself." Gillian replied calmly "Now girls step back a bit okay?"

The girls obeyed and stared at Gillian, waiting for what she'd do next. Gillian then looked at Brianna and motioned for her to come forward.

"Brianna, come with me." Gillian said as Brianna approached "The rest of you wait until I give the signal but you must come out in pairs."

"Why?" Beate inquired.

"We don't want to overcrowd him." Gillian said before turning to look at Bridget "Actually, Bridget, you technically count as one so you should come alone."

"Eh, fine by me" Bridget said rolling her eyes and biting into a carrot.

"Remember, wait for the signal." Gillian said as she and Brianna walked out the door.

"Yes, ma'am." Bertha said as she nodded.

"What signal would that be?" Frieda asked suddenly.

Bertha turned and was about to answer when it suddenly clicked in her brain that Gillian hadn't told them what signal would be and Bertha's eyes grew as big as dinner plates.

"I…I have no idea." she finally said.

Gillian and Brianna walked out the door and walked straight towards Beorn and Dorothea as Dorothea attempted to explain herself. As they got closer they caught wind of their conversation.

"…I'm also a doctor." Dorothea said.

Upon hearing that Gillian stopped four feet behind Dorothea and Brianna hid herself behind Gillian. Gillian then cleared her throat and Dorothea and Beorn turned to look at her.

"Who is this?" Beorn demanded as he quickly grabbed his ax.

"Oh I'm so terribly sorry." Gillian said "Let me introduce myself. My name is Gillian. Gillian the Grey."

"Never heard of you." Beorn said.

"I can explain." Dorothea said turning back to Beorn "She's a wizard and one of the friends I mentioned."

"Is this true?" Beorn asked.

"Yes." Gillian said "It's strange though you haven't heard of me. Have you heard of my colleague Ramona the Brown? She dwells just on the borders of Mirkwood and-"

"Who is that one?" Beorn demanded suddenly grasping his ax tighter.

Gillian looked behind her and saw Brianna shaking like a leaf and then she waved nervously at Beorn as she walked out into full view.

"Oh this is Brianna Baggins of the Shire." Gillian said turning to Beorn.

"She's not another dwarf is she?" Beorn inquired.

"Absolutely not!" Dorothea barked "She is a hobbit! The only thing we share is that we're…well…shorter than the average person."

"I see." Beorn said never once letting go of his ax "A dwarf, a wizard and a halfling. How did you get here?"

"Oh, well that's where it get's complicated." Gillian said "You see, we've narrowly escaped a rather annoying escapade with some goblins in the mountains."

"Why did you go near goblins?" Beorn asked flabbergasted "Sounds like an incredibly stupid thing to do."

"Oh yes it is!" Gillian said while doing a strange hand motion.

Suddenly Daniela and Barbara ran out from the house and curtsied as they introduced themselves. Beorn was perplexed to say the least. Gillian sighed and rolled her eyes. Dorothea did the same.

"I forgot to mention that…um…several of our company are, in fact, dwarves." Gillian said.

"Other then this one's sisters?" Beorn inquired.

"Now hold on a second." Gillian said making another hand gesture.

And suddenly Nadja and Ottilie ran out and curtsied before looking to their sister. Dorothea began to feel very nervous and looked to Beorn with concern.

"Ottilie and Nadja at your service!" her sisters said as they curtsied again.

"I don't want your service!" Beorn barked "Wizard, you're looking less like a group and more like a travelling circus!"

"Excuse me?!" Nadja said flabbergasted "We are not a travelling circus!"

"Are there any more of you in my house?" Beorn demanded.

Gillian sighed and turned towards the house. "Come on girls!" she yelled "You might as well show yourselves!"

There were was a kafuffle from inside and all of the girls rushed outside and then curtsied at the same time. Beorn sighed and placed his ax on the ground so that he could lean on it.

"Is that all?" he sighed tiredly "Are there any more?"

"Yes." said a voice.

And finally, Traude walked out into full view and leaned against one of the outside beams and looked to Beorn.

"You're the skin-changer I presume?" she asked.


	39. Pony Mode of Transportation

Everyone quietly sat at Beorn's table whilst he poured them milk in rather large mugs. He finished pouring Traude a glass while she observed him with suspicious eyes.

"So you're the dwarf princess Oakenshield?" Beorn asked.

"Yes." Traude said "But I won't be a princess for long."

"Tell me this, though. Why are the goblins hunting you?" Beorn asked.

"It's a bit of a long story." Daniella said.

"We kind of, sort of, killed their king." Gerlinde piped up "And they're more than a little pissed."

"That and the whole we went through the goblins like a meat grinder." Frieda added.

"Beat finder?" Ophelia asked in confusion "Ottilie didn't bring any beats."

"She said meat grinder!" Gerlinde barked.

Beorn looked at Gerlinde with a confused expression on his face while everyone else sat in awkward silence. Gerlinde then mouthed "She's deaf" to Beorn to which he nodded and then moved to put the milk jug on the nearby chess table. During this Brianna then thought of something to ask Beorn but was worried he'd get mad at her. Still she thought it was worth asking.

"Are there others like you?" Brianna piped up.

Beorn stopped right as he put the jug down. He didn't turn around but just stood still for a few seconds.

"Once there were many." he said softly.

"A-And now?" Brianna asked.

Beorn then slowly turned towards Brianna and stepped forward a bit while sighed.

"Now there's only one." he replied.

Brianna then felt very sorry that she'd asked and looked at everyone else around her who kept to themselves. Poor Dorothea looked like a sad puppy when she heard that. Nadja awkwardly looked at everyone else and then sighed through her nose as she took a sip of her milk.

"You need to reach the mountain before the last days of autumn." Beorn said turning to Gillian who was smoking her pipe "Is that not correct?"

"You are correct." Gillian replied "We must get there before Durin's Day."

"Well then you'd better hurry." Beorn said "You're running out of time."

"Exactly." Gillian responded between puffs "This is why we're going to pass through Mirkwood."

"That doesn't sound too bad." Brianna said.

"I'd be wary if I were you. The forest is not what it once was." Beorn said "A darkness lies upon it. Monsters dwell beneath the trees. I would not venture there unless I had no choice."

"Oh, how wonderful." Daniela sarcastically whispered to Barbara.

"We'll take the Elven road." Gillian said "That path is still safe."

"Not exactly." Beorn said "The wood-elves of Mirkwood are not like their kin. They're less wise and more dangerous and violent."

Brianna gulped nervously and bit her lip. Mirkwood was sounding less and less amusing every minute. Beorn then looked straight at Traude who had walked across the room and was standing just behind Kamilla and Frieda who were at the edge of the table that was facing the front door.

"But it doesn't really matter." he said "You have an even bigger problem on your hands then vengeful goblins."

Traude then blinked in surprise and turned to face Beorn.

"These lands are crawling with orcs, wargs and all manner of creatures." Beorn responded as he started walking towards her "And you're on foot. You'll never reach the forest alive."

Traude glared at Beorn. Of course there were orcs all over the place. She didn't need this skin-changer to tell her the obvious. Beorn then stopped right behind Dorothea and briefly looked at her. Dorothea looked at him innocently, waiting for what he'd do next. Beorn then noticed a little white mouse scurrying across the table. He picked it up with his right hand and held it tightly before looking back at Traude and resumed approaching her.

"I don't like dwarves very much." he said "They're greedy. And blind to the lives of those they deem lesser than their own."

He stopped right in front of her and he aggressively stared at each her for a few moments. Traude actually began to feel very uncomfortable and started to become worried. The girls waited for something, anything, to happen. Brianna fiddled with a kitchen fork underneath the table. Dorothea prepared to get up and say something in hopes of easing the tension.

"But I hate orcs more." Beorn finally said as he placed the white mouse gently on the wooden railing.

Everyone sighed with relief and Dorothea put her hand over her chest as she sighed and sat back down. Beorn then looked back to Traude who had taken a sigh of relief herself.

"What will you need?" Beorn inquired.

"Depends." Traude replied "What kind of livestock do you have?"

Soon enough Beorn was able to get them the right mode of transport: his ponies. As Beorn prepared to get the ponies ready, the girls were busy in the front yard making sure their gowns were nice and clean. They'd washed them yesterday afternoon and were now busy under the trees brushing off the hay and grass from inside. Barbara, Bertha, Traude and Ottilie were sitting under one tree near the hedge wall, with Ottilie sketching Beorn's yard in her sketchbook.

"I'm glad he didn't give us cows." Ottilie said "Cows don't smell all that nice."

"Doesn't matter what he gives us." Barbara said "As long as it get's us where we need to go."

"How many days exactly do we have till Durin's Day?" Brianna inquired innocently.

"Summer's probably passed." Traude said "We must be in autumn by now. And even then I wouldn't know what day it is."

Brianna, who was sitting under one of the trees, looked up at the tree and the sky around. There was not a single cloud in the sky. A gentle breeze blew through the air. The leaves cast shadows on Brianna and the girls and the sun gleamed through the leaves.

"I'm gonna miss this yard." Ottilie said as she kept sketching "It's really nice."

"Yeah it is." Brianna responded "Reminds me of home."

Home. Brianna missed her home. As exciting as this adventure had been, she knew that she couldn't wait to get home and sleep on her warm soft bed again and smell the magnolias which grew in her garden. And the stories she'd tell. No one back home would ever believe her. But then again, maybe keeping her friends in the dark about that was a good thing. They didn't have to know everything. Especially her ring. That especially she'd keep a secret.

Meanwhile, Dorothea had finished washing her face and was just drying it off when she heard a familiar sound: ponies neighing. She then made her way out to the back where Beorn had been chopping wood earlier that day. Only problem was he wasn't there. At least from what she could see. She then heard a pony neigh again and she turned to her left to see Beorn herding about twelve black and white ponies and one rather large grey horse.

She nervously bit her lip, with her hands clasping into fists and began walking towards him. She began running over what to say to him in her head but every conclusion she came to was either too forward or would anger him.

 _It's okay,_ Dorothea she thought to herself _Don't overcomplicate things. Just go over and say hello._

"H-Hello again!" she stammered.

"Oh it's you." Beorn said after turning to her.

Dorothea suddenly felt very nervous and started blushing like a silly person.

"I-I just wanted to know if everything was going fine." she said awkwardly "Very nice ponies."

Beorn laughed. "Yes. Strong and sturdy."

"Quite right." Dorothea said "May I walk with you?"

Beorn then clicked his tongue and the ponies started trotting between the house and the hedge wall with him trailing behind leading the grey horse by the reigns. Dorothea followed and soon was right next to Beorn (there was enough space between the wall and the house for them and the ponies to squeeze through.)

"So…you built this house yourself?" Dorothea piped up.

"Yes I did." Beorn said "I did have some help from some merchants."

"It's pretty big." Dorothea chuckled shyly "I mean, well, you're big yourself."

He didn't reply but helped guide the ponies as they walked. A rather serious question then popped into Dorothea's mind. She nervously thought about whether or not it was worth asking. But she mustered up her courage and turned to Beorn.

"D-Did you have a family?" she asked calmly.

Beorn was taken aback by this and stopped for a moment. He looked at Dorothea, who had never once taken her eyes off him.

"Yes, quite a while back." he replied before clicking his tongue and resumed leading the horse to the house's front.

"I'm sorry about your loss." Dorothea said "I wish I could have met them."

Finally, the two finally emerged to the front where the ponies spread out as the girls geeked out over finally having ponies to ride on. While the girls began saddling up, Dorothea picked the pony closet to Brianna as her steed when Gillian walked up to the two of them.

"Ah thank heavens, things seem to be going well." she said before turning to Beorn "Now then, Beorn, would you mind if we discuss the rest of the plan privately?"

"Of course." Beorn said.

Gillian curtsied to the girls and began walking off with Beorn following. Dorothea then carefully climbed onto the pony and gripped the reins tightly. Dorothea chuckled softly and felt herself blushing. Good heavens, could her face get any redder? Her thoughts were interrupted by someone clearing their throat right next to her. She quickly turned to her right to see Brianna who was trying to sustain a giggle.

"What?" Dorothea inquired.

"N-Nothing." Brianna said.

"Horny!" Nadja said as she faked a cough.

The nasty glare Dorothea gave Nadja promptly shut her up.


	40. Murky Mirkwood

"Remember, you have to leave the ponies to me once you reach the forests edge." Beorn said as he and Gillian walked and talked on the edge of Beorn's hedgewall.

"No problem, you have my word." Gillian said "But I myself have a question for you."

"What is it?" Beorn inquired.

"You said there were orcs in these lands." Gillian demanded "How? They almost never come this far north."

"There is an alliance between the orcs and the sorcerer in Dol Guldur." Beorn replied.

"What?!" Gillian barked in shock "How do you know this? I thought only Ramona knew."

"She's not the only one who understands animals." Beorn replied "And unless you think me mad, I have heard about this from wandering tradesman."

"It would seem so." Gillian said "But please tell me, what do you know of this sorcerer? This…Necromancer?"

"I know he's not what he seems." Beorn said "Evil things are drawn to him. It's not natural. Each day more and more orcs and warg packs have been seen gathering there."

"That IS troublesome." Gillian said.

"Gillian!" Traude called out from behind.

They turned to see Traude riding up to them on her pony only to stop just two feet away from Gillian.

"You need to hurry." she said "Time's wasting."

"I'll be along." Gillian said "Go back with the girls."

Traude nodded and trotted off. Gillian just started to walk away when Beorn cleared his throat.

"There's more." he said as Gillian turned to face him "Recently, it was rumored that the dead were seen walking near the High Fells of Rhudaur."

"T-The dead?" Gillian asked "Oh goodness."

"Are there tombs in those mountains?" Beorn inquired.

Gillian thought about this. She tried to remember her conversation with the White Council. Back in Rivendell. It seemed so long ago. She then remembered what Gerwazy had said about the tombs. 'The tombs of the High Fells of Rhudaur' is what he had said. Gillian was now growing more and more concerned about this situation. The connection between the orc pack and this Necromancer couldn't be a coincidence. And yet nothing about it made sense. She sighed and looked back at Beorn.

"Yes." she finally said "There are tombs there. I've never seen them myself."

"I was afraid of that." Beorn said "I remember a time when a great evil oppressed these lands. Similar in power to this Necromancer. If that evil has returned, we must tell the White Council."

"I did that already." Gillian said "Severine the White says it's not possible."

"What do you think, Gillian the Grey?" Beorn pointed out.

Gillian sighed. Even Severine had a tendency to be wrong about things. And she couldn't continue this journey with the girls with them not only in danger of being killed by the goblins or eaten by Smaug but of a worse fate.

"I don't know." Gillian said as she tilted her sunhat slightly "But one way or another, I'm going to find out."

"Go now while you have the light." he said calm but firmly "Goblins don't move often in daylight but they'll not be far behind."

Gillian quickly headed towards the girls and mounted her house, much to everyone's surprise.

"Alright girls, we'd better get a move on!" Gillian ordered.

And so the girls began their trek towards Mirkwood and they were more than grateful to be on ponies again. The girls took time to look at the scenery as they rode. The sun shone over the beautiful grassy fields lined with dense, wooded forests and beyond that mountains that stood tall and hard. If they weren't in such a hurry, they might have stopped for a rest but the faster they rode, the less likely any pursuers would catch up to them.

Finally, after a few hours of riding the girls finally caught sight of something straight ahead. It was a forest that seemed to stretch for miles with jungle like plants and trees. But the forest's edge was lined with twisted, black, leafless trees that stood up like wooden headstones. The closer they got as they finally came to a stop at the forest edge the more it began to look like this Mirkwood Gillian and Beorn had discussed.

"Here we are girls." Gillian said "The entrance of Mirkwood."

That pretty much confirmed the girl's theory and they all began dismounting. Daniela quickly looked around the surrounding area.

"No sign of the goblins or any orcs." she said "We seem to have luck on our side."

"Or that." Dorothea said as she motioned for them to look behind them.

They all turned around and saw Beorn in his bear form standing on top of a hill in the distance. Nadja and Ottilie looked at Dorothea who was smiling like a silly person. Ottilie and then Nadja then looked at each other and grinned smugly.

"Set the ponies loose!" Gillian ordered as she dismounted "Let them return to their master!"

"You heard her." Traude said "Set them loose."

Gillian then began to walk towards the forest entrance where a smooth, stone road began that lead into the forest. Brianna then started to follow after her but she caught sight of the blackened, lifeless trees at the forest's edge and stopped.

"Gillian, I don't think this is a good idea." she said.

Gillian suddenly stopped as she entered the forest and turned to Brianna with a perplexed look on her face.

"How so?" she asked.

"Well…this forest just feels…sick." Brianna replied "It's almost like a disease lies upon it. Is there no way around?"

"I'm afraid not." Gillian said "The only other ways are north 200 miles and twice that distance south. I suggest you go back to the others."

Gillian then continued her walk deeper into the forest along the path whilst Brianna rejoined the group. She sat down on a small log and put her hands on her pocket. She suddenly felt the ring in her pocket. She began to twirl it around with her fingers and a very strange feeling came over her. It was actually a feeling that she'd been having for a good long while. But it was always the same. It was whenever she twirled that ring. She liked twirling that ring. Feeling it rub against her fingers. It was her secret to keep and hers alone. It was precious to her. Then, suddenly, all the sound around her suddenly started to become muffled and that eerie whisper she'd heard the night at Beorn's house went through her ears again, only this time it was clearer.

The ring…was talking to her.

Gillian, in the meantime, kept on the path. As she walked her thoughts went back to something Gerwazy had said in Rivendell after the White Council's meeting had been adjourned and before she left to follow after the girls.

"Something moves in the shadows unseen." he had said "We must beware the Necromancer. Gillian, my friend, if our enemy has returned we must know."

It was then that she noticed something. Right next to her was a statue of an Elvish warrior now covered with overgrown kudzu weeds and ferns. But there was something about this statue that just didn't feel right. And the closer she got to the statue, the more this feeling grew. Finally, she grabbed the kudzu, took a deep breath and ripped it off. When she did, it revealed a reptilian-like eye painted in dried blood and written under it was something in Elvish, when Gillian took a closer look it read this:

 ** _Beware._**

The second Gillian ripped that kudzu off the statue, Brianna suddenly felt as if her chest was caving in and she gasped, promptly drawing her hand out of her pocket at lightning speed. When she did so, the pain disappeared as suddenly as it had arrived. She grasped her chest and tried to calm herself down. Bertha suddenly rushed over with Beate.

"Oh, goodness! Are you hurt?" Beate asked.

"Shall we send for Ophelia and Dorothea?" Bertha inquired.

"N-No." Brianna panted "I'm…I'm alright. No need to fret."

Bertha and Beate then gave her suspicious looks. Brianna began wringing her hands nervously.

"Alright." Beate said "But if you need help, come to us and we'll get Dorothea."

Brianna nodded and Beate and Bertha walked off. Now alone, Brianna soon returned her thoughts to what the heck had happened. She didn't how it happened or why but she certainly didn't want it to happen again.

 _They won't take my ring._ she thought to herself _It's mine. Not theirs._

Gillian meanwhile was deeply troubled by what she saw. She couldn't stand by and do nothing anymore. Gerwazy and Ramona were right. She had to act. But then she remembered the girls. She glanced back at them as they finally finished unbridling the last of the ponies. She couldn't abandon them. They needed her. Greatly so. She then realized something. A terrible realization. If she didn't investigate and stop whatever was going on, the girls would have worse problems than a grumpy dragon on their hands. Either the goblins would run them down and kill them or the Necromancer would find them himself and do horrifying things to them that Gillian didn't want to think about. And worse…what if he didn't stop there? What if he was planning to enslave the whole land? She bit her lip and tapped her staff on the ground. She wasn't going to let that happen. Not by a long shot. She had a job to do.

"I guess it's off to the High Feels then." she muttered to herself as she began to walk towards the girls.

The girls in the meantime had finish untying the ponies and they ran off into the distance. Dorothea then noticed they hadn't untied the grey horse yet.

"Ottilie!" she barked "Would you be a dear and untie the horse as well?"

Ottilie nodded and then ran over to the horse, leaned down and prepared to untie the saddle ropes when Gillian appeared out of the forest.

"Not my horse!" she demanded "I'll be needing it!"

"What?!" Brianna exclaimed "You're not leaving us again, are you?"

"I'm sorry but I would not do this unless I had to." Gillian responded.

All the girls loudly moaned in disapproval and grumbled to themselves. Gillian stopped just in front of Brianna who was still on her log a few feet away from the group while the rest of the girls continued to be irritated by Gillian seemingly abandoning them again. She then observed the little hobbit and noticed she had stuffed her hands in her pocket and had a very distressed look on her face.

"You've changed, Brianna Baggins." Gillian said "I don't know how but you're not the same woman who left the Shire."

Brianna gulped nervously. Had Gillian guessed her secret about the ring? Damn it. She thought she'd kept it to herself. Then again Gillian was wizard so for all Brianna knew she could probably sense the ring.

"I was going to tell you." she finally said "B-But I was nervous too. Because….well…I found something in the goblin tunnels."

"What did you find, if I may ask?" Gillian asked.

Brianna gulped nervously and twirled the ring around in her pocket. That eerie feeling began to overtake her again. She gulped nervously and took her hands out of her pocket.

"My courage." she lied.

Gillian raised an eyebrow in suspicion but then chuckled and ruffled Brianna's hair playfully.

"That's good." she said "You'll need it."

That last one worried Brianna a bit as Gillian walked towards her horse as passing the group.

"Hopefully, if I finish my business quickly, I'll be waiting for all of you at the overlook, before the slopes of Erebor." she said as she stopped and turned to face Traude "Remember this…do not enter that mountain without me and keep the key and map safe."

"Yes, ma'am." everyone said unanimously as Gillian quietly went over and mounted her horse.

"This forest is not what it used to be." she continued "There is a river in the forest. It carries a dark enchantment. Don't fall into the water. You must cross by the stone bridge."

"Alright." Traude said "What else is there?"

"The very air of the forest is heavy with illusion." Gillian said "It'll seek to enter your minds and lead you astray."

"Oh dear." Brianna said to herself.

"Got it." Traude said "Anything else before you depart?"

"Yes." Gillian responded "You must stay on the path. Do not leave it. If you do…you're not going to find it again. Are we clear?"

The girls mumbled in agreement. Gillian then clicked her tongue and started to gallop off on the horse.

"Stay on the path, girls!" she called out as she got farther and farther away.

"Come on, then." Traude said as she began walking towards the forest entrance "We must reach the mountain before the sun sets on Durin's Day. Let's go!"

The girls immediately followed after Traude and this was the order they were now in: Traude, Kamilla, Frieda, Brianna, Barbara, Daniela and Ophelia in front and Bridget, Bertha, Beate, Gerlinde, Ottilie and Dorothea in the back. Just as they walked through the gate, Dorothea stopped and turned around, wondering if Beorn was still standing on that hill in his bear form. But to her surprise he wasn't there at all. He'd run off it seemed when the ponies were set free. Drat. She'd really hoped he'd be there, standing guard.

"Dorothea!" called out a voice.

Dorothea gasped and turned to see the voice: Bridget of all people.

"Quit lollygagging and hurry!" she said "You don't wanna get left behind now do you?"

"N-No I don't!" Dorothea replied.

"Then hurry on then!" Bridget barked.

Dorothea sighed with embarrassment and followed after the others. Soon, all the girls were in the forest.


	41. Like a Bridge Over Troubled Mirkwood

The girls had never seen any forest like this in their lives. The trees grew high and tall but were so close together that very little sunlight could get through the dense forest canopy. The trees vines and roots were long and gnarled and on the forest floor were not only leaves but ferns, grass and spiked roots sticking out of the ground. And staying on the path in fact proved very difficult because of all this forest debris. Daniela had to tap the forest floor with the end of her ax to make sure that it was the path every so often. The air itself then slowly began to make them feel odd as if the forest had some kind of dry heat or humidity, even though by now it was supposed to be early autumn. And the farther they went into the forest, everyone, including Traude, began to feel very woozy and it seemed to become harder and harder to see.

Animals occasionally scurried by, mostly just small bear-dogs, rabbits and a badger at one point. Birds flew by but they were mostly hummingbirds and sparrows and they flew just under the canopy leaves. Finally, after what seemed like days of walking they finally caught sight of the stone bridge. The trees also finally began to clear out and the girls soon found themselves in a swamp where some tree roots shot up out of the water like spears and there were fallen logs that sank into the water.

"We found the bridge!" Kamilla barked.

"At bloody last!" Daniela said.

The girls rushed to the bridge only to find that the bridge had fallen apart and now there was a massive gap between the two sides.

"Oh bollocks." Brianna said.

"Well, we could try and swim it." Bertha piped up.

"Don't be foolish." Traude said "Remember what Gillian said. The river's enchanted."

"It doesn't look very enchanting to me." Bertha said.

Brianna in the meantime was still adjusting to the unusual forest air with her now starting to feel drowsy and lightheaded, though that quickly went away when she shook her head and rubbed her eyes. Gillian had mentioned that not only was the river enchanted, but the forest itself was too and that no matter what time of year it was, the forest and it's rivers were always warm, the trees were always green and had summer weather every year. And seeing as how it sure felt like the middle of summer in this place, there seemed to be a lot of truth behind what Gillian said.

"There has to be another way across." Beate barked "It'd take too long to go around."

"What about that?" Kamilla exclaimed suddenly.

The girls suddenly turned around and saw approximately three feet away from the bridge some vines that extended all the way to the other side.

"They look strong enough!" Kamilla said just as she reached out to grab one.

"Kamilla, wait!" Traude ordered "We must send the lightest first."

"Oh yes, quite right." Brianna said smugly.

It suddenly dawned on Brianna and she turned around to see everyone staring at her with their arms crossed and Bertha tilted her head and smirked.

"That would be me isn't it?" Brianna inquired.

"You think?" Nadja said.

Brianna sighed in defeat. "Fuck me."

"Language, Miss Baggins!" Barbara called out.

"Sorry!" Brianna replied "My apologizes."

She then proceeded to walk over to where the vines were. She took a deep breath, exhaled and then grasped onto the vines. Carefully and slowly she climbed up and down the vines with some of them getting wrapped around her legs.

"D-Do you need help Brianna?!" Beate called out "I could come over!"

"No I'm fine!" Brianna replied "Just…need to…gain a footing is all!"

And lo and behold, just after she finished saying that one of the vines snapped and she almost fell into the water. But she managed to grasp onto some more vines with her feet and hands and managed to stop herself with her nose just inches above the water. But something caught her eye in the water.

She saw a group of small, silver fishes radically change direction and swim the other way. As unusual as this was, she didn't have time to worry about that as she properly began to regain a grip on the vines. She regained her footing just as her feet smacked into the water.

"Brianna!" Ophelia exclaimed.

"Get out of the water!" Barbara called out.

"It's alright!" Brianna said as she pulled herself up "Everything's under control!"

Pretty soon, Brianna was above the water and back on the vines, water dripping from her soaking wet feet. At last, she managed to stumble onto the other side and sighed a massive sigh of relief. Then she sighed a more exhausted sigh as she remembered the forest heat. She opened her water canteen and took a huge drink from it before putting it away again. She wiped the sweat off her forehead, then sat up and looked at the river.

This time, however, she noticed something different and a lot more worrying. Bubbles appearing in the distance to her left.

"Something's not right. Not at all." she muttered to herself before turning to face the girls "Girls! Stay where you are girls!"

But her exclamation was too little too late as now ALL the girls were clambering onto the vines and hanging on for dear life whilst also trying to avoid falling into the water. Bertha, however, was having particular trouble as her sister Bridget had inexplicably stopped in front of her.

"What are you doing, Bridget?!" Bertha all but screamed.

"I don't know…" Bridget said drunkenly "…I feel…woozy…Geez, it's hot!"

"Well, this is not the time for that!" Bertha said as she shook her head "Now move over!"

Brianna, meanwhile, was flummoxed by all this. She was surprised then to see Traude land to her right and then brush herself off.

"You made it." Brianna said.

"Of course I did." Traude said "I'm more agile than you think."

Traude then opened her own canteen of water but only took a brief sip and then stopped immediately when a sound caused her to her look toward the other side and she almost gasped. Brianna looked where she was looking and simply blinked in surprise. Just on the other side of the river banks and from behind some trees emerged a pure white stag. The only different colors to be found where the grey of it's hooves, the color of it's eyes, nostrils and mouth. If it had been snowing, the creature would have blended perfectly with it's surroundings. But as the stag appeared it stopped and looked directly at Brianna and Traude, the sun glistening off it's fur. Brianna had never seen a stag of that color before was stared at it in amazement. She then heard something creak right next to her and turned to see Traude. She was loading an arrow from the bows and arrows she'd gotten from Beorn and was looking directly at the stag.

"W-Wait…" Brianna whispered "Don't do that."

Traude completely ignored her and never tore her gaze from the stag. The stag did the same, but somehow Traude felt as if it wasn't just looking at her but like it was looking inside of her. As if it could see into her soul. Unable to handle the stress anymore, she raised her bow and arrow and fired, causing Brianna to gasp. The arrow, however, completely missed the stag and hit a nearby tree, causing the stag to bolt away before Traude could regain her senses and reload. Brianna sighed in disappointment and glared at Traude, much to Traude's surprise.

"I told you not to do that." Brianna said "It's bad luck and now look what you've done."

"It doesn't matter." Traude said "Getting out of this wretched forest is luck in of itself."

Suddenly, their attention was broken by a loud splash and they turned to look at the others.

"Dwarf overboard!" Dorothea barked.

Bridget had passed out and fallen into the water with a loud splash. Bertha, Daniela and Beate were busy trying to get her out. Thankfully, they'd managed to grab her via the back of her gown.

"Come on, you wimps!" Daniela said "Pull!"

Gerlinde then stepped in to assist and finally, with all their might they pulled Bridget out of the water, with her entirely soaked in water. Finally, after what seemed like forever, twelve of the thirteen members of the company managed to clamber onto the other side and they flopped Bridget onto the other side. Bertha quickly rushed to her sister.

"Bridget, are you okay?!" she demanded "Speak to me!"

"No, mommy." Bridget suddenly muttered "Let me stop No Heart."

Bertha sighed a rather annoyed sigh. "She's fine."

"Wait…where's Ophelia?" Gerlinde demanded.

"What?" Ophelia barked.

Everyone turned around to see Ophelia still clambering towards them on the vines.

"Come on, sis!" Gerlinde said "You can do it!"

"Just a few more feet!" Ottilie responded.

"Hold on!" Ophelia answered "I'll there in two shakes of a lambs tail."

Ophelia was now a few feet away from the other side and motioned for the others to move forward a little bit. They did so dragging Bridget with them.

"Okay!" Ophelia said "Here I come!"

And with that, she took a deep breath, exhaled and then jumped the three feet between her and the other side and landed as best she could.

But the second she landed on the other side then a massive amount of water burst up followed by gigantic creature. It had a crocodile-like head and sharp teeth as long as any one of the girl's hands was wide and had flippers like a dolphin's and a tail like a tadpole's. It snapped at where Ophelia used to be and then splashed back into the water, breaking the vines and the branches of trees as it did so. The girls shrieked in fear and Ophelia scrambled to where they were.

As the vines and branches were broken, a crane fell out of one of the trees and as it tried to open it's wings, the creature burst out of the water and snatched the crane by the head and blood sprayed all over the monster's face. It then dove back into the water, with a small wave splashing onto the other side and some it soaking the girls. As the creature swam away, the girls hearts were still racing and sweat dripped down their necks and cheeks (though the dry heat didn't help). Barbara felt as if she'd have a heart attack.

"T-This forest going to be the death of us." Ottilie said.

"Yup." Traude replied.

"I-I think we should s-s-stay away from rivers from this p-point on." Beate stammered, her hair standing up on end.

"Yup." Traude repeated.


	42. Lost in Mirkwood Space

The girls continued trudging through the forest, with Bridget sleeping on a cot carried by Bertha, Ottilie, Beate and Nadja. Brianna was trailing behind, exhausted from all this walking. Then again, they all were. Now, barely any sunlight was going through the trees and it looked like the earliest hours of mourning when the sun is barely peeking over the horizon. And that summer heat was getting to them. Soon everyone was sweating like they were in the desert.

"We need to take a rest." Ottilie said "I'm exhausted."

"Alright then." Traude "Rest everyone!"

Everyone sighed with relief and flopped to the ground though Beate, Nadja, Ottilie and Bertha were careful to put Bridget down gently. But it quickly became clear to the girls that something was seriously wrong.

It was quiet. Too quiet.

Outside of the occasional bird call, they could only hear the sound of the wind and their own breaths. But Brianna began to notice one other sound the others didn't. They had started soon after they'd left the bridge but now they were becoming more frequent. The sound was an eerie noise. Almost like…talking. It echoed softly through the trees but could be heard faintly.

"What in heaven's name?" Brianna muttered to herself.

"Attercop!" said the voice "Attercop!"

"Quiet." said another voice "They'll hear us."

"H-Hey." Brianna barked "Those voices. Can anyone else them?"

"What are you talking about?" Dorothea slurred "I hear nothing."

"My head feels funny." Beate piped up.

In fact, everyone's heads were feeling funny. That strange woozy feeling from earlier had returned with a vengeance, as they dangerously neared a heat stroke. But now with the addition of everything looking as if everyone was cross-eyed. Soon Traude of all people was starting to see double of some of the girls and shook her head to clear her mind

"Whoa…" Traude like she was high "Daniela, what hour is it?"

"I don't know." Daniela said "I don't even know what day it is. Or even if it's night or day."

"Nadja…go check…ahead…" Dorothea panted as she opened her water canteen and downed half the canteen.

Nadja simply moaned and got up and walked ahead a few feet. Gerlinde then suddenly angrily groaned in frustration.

"Oh goodness!" Gerlinde snarled "Why are there so many trees and more trees?!"

Suddenly Nadja shrieked and everyone briefly came to their senses and hurried to where she was, which was thankfully only twenty feet away.

"What's wrong?" Traude demanded.

"T-The path." Nadja stammered "I-I-It's disappeared."

"What?!" Barbara yelled.

"She's right!" Ophelia barked "I can't see it anywhere!"

"Well, look around!" Traude ordered "Find it!"

Everyone immediately fanned out. Brianna, however, sat right where she was. Only after everyone had left did she notice they were gone. She looked around and finally spotted them in the distance, with Bertha, Nadja, Ottilie and Beate having resumed carrying Bridget.

"Wait! Come back!" Brianna barked "We must stay on the path! Girls?! Wait for me!"

The girls completely ignored her and just kept walking. Brianna angrily growled to no one in particular and began stomping after the girls. Unbeknownst to her or the girls, the path was behind two trees, one of which they were all resting by no less than a few moments ago. They looked under rocks, logs and all over the place but they couldn't find it. And they were unknowingly wandering deeper and deeper into the forest. At one point the girls found themselves in a clearing of sorts (the forest canopy was still giving a noticeable lack of light) which had a small hill with a tall tree growing out of it and where it was slightly cooler. Brianna was currently resting near the roots of this tree, whilst Daniela was keeping watch and Barbara and Dorothea were looking under the roots and all around the tree.

"I don't remember this place." Barbara moaned "None of it's familiar at all."

"But it's got to be here!" Dorothea whined "It can't have just disappeared!"

"It's not here either!" Ottilie called out in the distance.

"Is there no end to this accursed forest!" Traude all but screamed from where Ottilie was.

Brianna rolled her eyes as she wiped the sweat off her forehead and sighed as she turned to the tree she was sitting next to only to be surprised by what she saw.

The roots of the tree were covered all over with thick spider webs. Brianna looked up and realized the entire left side of the tree and some of the center was covered with webs that extended all the way to the branches of two nearby trees. And, without knowing why, she plucked the webs with her finger. The webs vibrated but it seemed as if Brianna could actually hear the vibrations. To make sure she wasn't hallucinating, she plucked the webs again and again she seemed to hear the vibrations as they shot up the webs. Only this time that eerie whispering from earlier. And this time she could plainly make out a single word.

"Attercop." hissed the voice.

Brianna suddenly felt very creeped out and looked around to try and find where the voice was coming from. But she couldn't see anything at all. Just trees and trees as far as the eye could see.

It's all in your head. she thought to herself It's all in your head.

Seeing no hope in finding the path again, the girls decided unanimously decided to just keep going straight and hope beyond hope that they'd reach the forests end. Thankfully as they kept walking it started getting brighter as more light flowed through the canopy. But a feeling of tiredness began to overtake everyone, similar to what they'd felt when they'd wandered off the path. Everyone felt exhausted, dehydrated and just wanted to rest. In fact, Traude was just about to call rest when she spotted something to her right.

Nearby she could see a group of black, red, brown and white haired individuals who from what Traude could see had pointed ears.

Crap! Elves! But wait a minute.. she thought to herself as a crazed smile came to her face If they were camping that meant food. Delicious food.

"L-Look." Traude said.

Everyone stopped and looked where Traude was and but to their surprise didn't see anything. But they were more surprised by Traude starting to walk over to them.

"Wait, what are you doing, Traude?" Barbara demanded.

Traude completely ignored them and continued walking, her steps getting slowly faster.

"We're saved." she said.

"I beg your pardon?" Brianna asked.

"We're saved!" Traude cackled in response without even turning around "I can't believe it took Elves to save us!"

And then Traude started running towards these supposed elves and everyone quickly followed after her, calling for her to stop but she didn't listen. All the while, Traude had begun cackling like a crazed person as she ran. She soon ran into the bushes and ran faster shoving leaves and branches out of the way despite one branch smacking her in the face. Finally she tripped on something and fell out of the bushes and landed face-first in the dirt.

Traude lifted her face out of the dirt and spat the dirt out of her mouth and looked up expecting to see the elves. But she was shocked to see the elves had completely vanished. Now there was nothing but forest debris, grass, trees and bushes as far as the eye could see and a very cross looking hedgehog on a log. The rest of the girls arrived just as Traude got up and brushed herself off but continued looking around.

"What were you thinking?!" Barbara demanded.

"I-I saw Elves." Traude replied as she turned to face the girls looking shocked "Clear as day."

"You were hallucinating, auntie." Frieda said.

"Yeah, that's probably it." Brianna said "Didn't Gillian say the forest was heavy with illusion?"

"N-N-No that was the water." Beate piped up.

Traude angrily moaned and face-palmed, slowly removing her hand from her face with a very cross expression still there.

"I saw them." she said earnestly "I know I did. It was too real to be an illusion."

"Well, either way, the paths probably long gone by now." Kamilla said.

"QUIT REMINDING US!" all the girls screamed at Kamilla.

"Whoa!" she exclaimed as she backed away slightly "Touched a nerve there."

Two more instances of supposed Elf sightings occurred and each time Traude followed after them and the poor girls had to follow in hot pursuit. But every time they got closer the elves seemed to vanish into thin air.

Now the girls had literally no idea where they were going. And that heatstroke came upon Brianna in full swing. Her eye-lids began to feel heavy, making her feel as if she'd pass out any second and she was no panting like a dog to keep cool. She looked down at her feet and was baffled because it seemed she was walking backwards but when she looked up everything else was moving forward. She turned around to see if Dorothea (who was behind her) was hallucinating as well.

But when she turned around she was baffled to see an exact duplicate of herself, looking at her in utter bewilderment. Brianna shook her head and when she opened her eyes Dorothea was back where she was.

"What's wrong?" she asked drunkenly.

"Nothing." Brianna slurred back before turning her head to look on ahead.

She looked down at her own canteen. There was still a lot left and she needed desperately cool down. So she took a chug of water but then closed her eyes and poured the entire remaining water on her face, soaking her hair and also some of her dress. The water felt like ice being dunked on her but it was worth it. But the second she opened her eyes then she slammed into something and crashed onto the forest floor. The girls had all stopped suddenly and Brianna had bumped into Barbara and Dorothea had accidently tripped her. The girls carefully put Bridget down along with Traude's bow and arrow as Gerlinde rushed over to Brianna's side.

"Are you okay?" Gerlinde asked as Brianna got up.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Brianna replied as she shook her head and then brushed herself off "I'm…fine."

Finally, Brianna's head finally began to clear up and she felt much more like herself. She wiped some leftover sweat and water off her face for good measure and looked around to see what everyone had stopped for. She finally noticed Dorothea holding a brown-colored knapsack in her hands which was covered in leaves and dirt.

"Hey, look, a knapsack." she slurred "Sewn from mountain bear fur. There's dwarves in these woods, there is."

"Dwarves from the Blue Mountains, no less!" Bertha said as she took the knapsack and stared at it like it was most amazing thing she'd ever seen "This is exactly like my knapsack! That's so weird!"

"Because it is yours. Don't you get it?" Brianna said whilst pointing her finger upwards and spinning her hand round and round "We're going around in circles! We're lost!"

"We are not lost." Traude piped up "We're just misguided in our sense of direction is all."

All the girls looked at Traude with disapproving and frankly bored looks with Beate of all people raising an eyebrow. Traude likewise sighed in annoyance.

"Okay so we're lost!" she angrily said "But the best way to get un-lost is to keep heading east."

"But which way is east?!" Ophelia moaned "We've lost the sun!"

"Oh stop complaining!" Daniela said.

"That's funny coming from you who was complaining twenty minutes ago about how long we've been walking!" Ophelia replied angrily.

"Now wait just a minute!" Daniela all but screamed "I'm not the jackass who needs a stupid trumpet to hear outta one ear!"

"In case you haven't noticed I lost that horn in the goblin caves you sodding idiot!" Ophelia shrieked as she shoved Daniela away.

That did it. Pretty soon the two were engaged in a fistfight. Traude just leaned against a tree and rolled her eyes, staying well away from the action as the others then desperately started trying to break up the fight. But then suddenly a faint, eerie whispering crept into her ears. She suddenly felt very nervous. The whispering sounded very close and seemed to be coming from up in the forest canopy itself. And every now and again these whispers formed words.

"Attercop." said one voice.

"We'll slay them soon enough." said another.

Traude suddenly remembered what Brianna had said a long ways back about 'those voices.' It seemed Brianna's theory wasn't too far off. Traude then turned to her group who were still fighting and yelling like a bunch of angry bratty schoolgirls.

"Enough!" she roared "Quiet!"

Everyone immediately shut up and stopped fighting and looked to Traude with great concern.

"What's the matter?" Kamilla asked softly.

"We're being watched." Traude replied sternly.


	43. Great Spider Expectations

During the commotion on the forest floor, Brianna had begun climbing the nearest tree in hopes of finding the sun above the forest canopy. Even for a hobbit like her, it proved difficult and she tried to avoid being tangled in vines or spider-webs and she noticed the higher she climbed the more spider-webs there seemed to be. But thankfully, that also meant more branches for her to clamber onto. At one point, when she was just two branches away from the leaves a group of small woodpeckers with red-crests flew out of a nearby hole in a tree, startling her. But she managed to grasp onto the branch with all her might with both arms and managed to pull herself up and at long last she broke through the leaves.

The first thing she did was take a deep breath. Fresh air filled her nose and lungs and a gentle breeze flew across her face and through her dark hair and she sighed a big relieved sigh. A ray of sunshine briefly blinded her as she opened her eyes and she winced at the sudden burst of light. Her vision, however, began to clear up and her eyes adjusted. And when they did she couldn't believe her eyes.

Butterflies with bright blue wings suddenly burst from the leaves and took to the sky. Brianna had not butterflies since they left Beorn's house but she'd never seen butterflies this big. They were as large as her hand. She couldn't help but laugh with joy at finally seeing something other than tree roots, dirt, forest debris and mud. However, she quickly turned her attention to the scenery around forest was spread out around her looking like it was still in the midst of summer. She noticed that whatever area around the forest looked radically different, as if it was early winter. Just ahead she noticed a long river that flowed into a large lake. The shores of the lake on the other side were a beautiful open prairie that went on as far as the eye could see where you could see hints of snow (adding to the surreal beauty of her surroundings).

"Girls, you won't believe what I'm seeing!" she called out assuming the girls were below her "I can see a lake! And there's a river and a prairie!"

Brianna looked to her left and gasped in surprise. She moved some leaves out of the way to be sure and chuckled softly. There, in the distance, was the Lonely Mountain, looking very close.

"And the Lonely Mountain!" she yelled "We're almost there! Isn't this wonderful?!"

There was no answer, much to Brianna's surprise. She ducked her head down to see if the girls were still at the forest floor.

"Can you hear me, girls?!" she barked "I know which way to go now!"

But nobody answered. Brianna began to feel nervous and cleared her throat.

"Hello?!" she called out.

Still no answer. Brianna bit her lip when suddenly she heard branches cracking in the distance and brought her head back up to see what was going on. The tops of the trees just ahead of her started shaking wildly, accompanied by the sound of branches snapping. Out of one of them birds flew out, screeching and chirping as they did so.

And whatever was in those trees was getting closer. And closer. She gulped. She decided she'd had enough of the forest canopy for one day and ducked under the leaves. The snapping sound was getting louder. As sweat began flowing down her face (this time not from the forest floor heat), she carefully started to climb down. But suddenly on the second branch she felt something sticky. She was able to look down and see she was caught on web before she fell off the branch. Brianna shrieked as she feel downwards and then with a thud she smacked against a branch.

When Brianna awoke she felt like she was stuck inside some kind of box...made of silk? So she naturally tried to move but couldn't. But as her vision cleared she realized something. She was in some sort of web that encased her whole body. She was in a burial position with her arms to her sides and she could move them only slightly. But then she realized the horrifying truth.

She was being dragged by something. She could make out the silhouette from outside the web. It was a spider. And it was leaning over her.

"A little taste never hurt anybody." the spider hissed in a demonic, snake-like hiss.

Brianna gulped nervously and felt like she'd pass out again. She tried to move up her arm but her arm couldn't move any farther then the handle of her sword. Wait…her sword! Before she had any idea what the heck she was doing she grasped her sword and just as the spiders saliva started dripping through the web she drew the sword and it cut the web and went right into the spider's belly. The spider shrieked in pain but Brianna quickly grabbed her sword with both hands and drove the sword further into the spider. Brianna drew her sword out of the spider and the grotesque creature went limp and fell off the branch, crashing onto the forest floor. Brianna then frantically ripped as much webbing off of her as she could. She then quickly ducked behind the tree and quickly turned her head to see where she was.

All around her on the branches were the largest spiders she'd ever seen. Indeed they were truly monstrous, about the size of a bear with hairy legs as their own bodies. They had black, soulless eyes and huge fangs dripping with saliva. And at the moment, they were busy crowding around and wrapping up some very feminine figures that could be distinguished even with them covered in webbing.

 _The girls!_ Brianna thought to herself.

She suddenly heard a hiss and ducked back behind the tree, never once sheathing her sword. A spider crept up the tree behind her, it's legs just inches away from Brianna's shoulders.

"What was that noise?" one of the spiders hissed.

"Not important." the spider behind Brianna hissed back "Let us return to the task at hand."

As soon as the spider passed by Brianna got an idea. She reached into her right pocket with her left hand (her right still grasping the sword) and pulled out the ring. And without hesitation she put it on and everything turned black, white and hazy and smeared. She turned her head to her left and peeked from behind the tree

"Confound these accursed creatures!" a spider hissed.

"They're always moving around!" hissed another "It's almost impossible to wrap them up!"

"What about the big one?" said one more spider.

"Let us eat it." the biggest spider (who was the leader) said "If it tastes good we eat the rest."

"Sounds like a plan." the spiders hissed as the closed in around what could only be Bridget wrapped in a web.

But at that moment, Bridget awoke inside her web and gasped in fear. She noticed one spider getting close to her legs and then immediately kicked the spider right in the face.

"It kicked me in the face!" the spider shrieked.

"Well, hold it down then!" the leader spider shrieked "Bite it again so we can feast!"

Other spiders then came from the branches chanting 'Feast! Feast! Feast!' in their wicked, scratchy voices above Brianna. A loud hiss suddenly came from behind Brianna and she turned around to see a particularly ugly spider walking in her direction. She immediately crouched down and the spider walked over her. When she was sure the spider had passed by her, she lifted her head back up and turned her attention back to Bridget.

She had to get her out of there. Away from those foul creatures. She then noticed a fallen branch near her feet, grabbed it and with all her might threw the branch towards some nearby webs where it became snagged in them, the webs snapped and the branch crashed into other branches and then hit the ground with a thud. The spiders hissed in annoyance and turned to the direction of the noise.

"What was that?!" demanded a spider which was smaller then the others.

"Intruders!" the leader spider barked "Protect the nest and our supper!"

"We can have the intruders as appetizers!" said a spider.

"Then let us be going, then!" the lead spider said as he bolted towards the bottom of the tree.

The other spiders followed, shrieking and hissing as they went. Except for the ugliest spider who crawled over Brianna. That spider was currently trying to pin Bridget down as Brianna quietly moved towards it, holding her sword in both hands.

Bridget shrieked something indiscernible due to the webbing around her mouth. The spider had become very much irritated by this.

"Stop your squealing!" the spider barked "You're fighting only makes me hunger for your flesh more. I'll have myself a little taste if you don't mind."

Brianna had decided that was enough and then swung her sword with it gashing the spiders thorax from behind. The spider shrieked in pain and turned around and roared in Brianna's direction, getting saliva on her face. She ignored it and swiped her sword again, cutting off the front ends of the spiders hind legs. She then swiped her sword again this time cutting the spider in the face.

"Thaaah! Damn it all!" the spider shrieked angrily "Where is it?! Where is it?!"

Brianna quickly used two free fingers on her right hand to remove her ring and everything returned to normal and she popped up out of nowhere in front of the spider.

"Here I am." she said as she quickly stashed the ring in her pocket.

She then grasped the sword with both hands and before the spider could act, she stabbed it right in the face and it shrieked in pain.

"It stings!" Stings!" it screamed as it tilted over.

The spider then lost it's grip on the branch as it tilted, slipping out of Brianna's sword and falling down towards the forest floor and it hit the ground with a tremendous crash. Brianna chuckled softly and looked back at her blood stained sword.

"Sting." she said "I hadn't thought of that. It's a rather good name for a sword. Now…back to business."

She scrambled over to Bridget, then looked to the forest floor and noticed some webbing that stretched all the way to rather large leaf pile and seemed to cover it like a drape.

She then kicked Bridget over the side of the branch and she plopped onto the ground, getting wrapped in more webbing. Brianna sighed with relief and then quickly began cutting the other girls loose. She cut quickly but as carefully as possible and the girls all fell to the forest floor, with the webbing cushioning their fall. Finally, all of the girls were cut loose and now safely on the forest floor and we're quickly trying to get free.

"Why are we covered in webs?!" Nadja exclaimed.

"Is everyone alright?" Barbara inquired.

"Ewww, there's webbing in my hair!" Frieda cried out.

"Wait…where's Brianna?!" Bertha demanded.

Brianna, who was still up on the branch peeked down at the girls in the forest floor.

"I'm up here!" she yelled "I'll be down in just a-"

Suddenly, a spider appeared seemingly out of nowhere and roared at Brianna as it pinned her down. Brianna screamed as she stabbed the spider in the abdomen. The spider shrieked and lost it's footing on the branch. Brianna tried to pull her sword out but it wouldn't come loose. As soon as the spider lost it's grip, Brianna grabbed onto the sword's handle tightly as she could. The spider then crashed into two more really thick branches and Brianna's ring suddenly came flying out of her pocket and she failed to grab the ring in time as it slipped through some twigs and leaves and disappeared into the forest floor.


	44. The Usual Spider Suspects

Just as the girls heard Brianna's response they heard screeching and yelling from behind. They turned around quickly and gasped in fear. The spiders had been unsuccessful in finding whoever was assaulting their web but now on their way back they'd caught their prey red handed trying to escape.

"Our preys escaping!" a spider barked.

"Catch them!" the spider leader screeched "Catch them all!"

"Run for it!" Traude screamed.

The girls began running for their lives but the spiders were surprisingly fast and maneuverable and soon caught up with the girls. Only to be met by their weapons. All of the girls quickly drew their weapons and were soon engaged in a vicious battle with the spiders, punching them and stabbing them multiple times. One of the spiders attempted to grab Ottilie but Dorothea and Nadja managed to hack the vile creature to death before it could snatch their sister.

Traude used up what few arrows she had left and resorted back to Orcrist which once again proved it's worth against their multi-legged foes. Bridget even managed to beat a spider back whilst her sister and cousin protected her.

Meanwhile, Brianna scrambled all over the forest floor nearby looking for her ring but it was nowhere to be found. She never once sheathed her sword but had it at the ready in case anything popped up. Nearby, the dead spiders body lay between two large tree roots, it's abdomen dripping in yellow blood.

"Where is it?!" Brianna exclaimed "It couldn't have just gotten up and walked away!"

Suddenly, she felt a strange pulsating feeling like the one hours ago in the forest when she was hallucinating. Except this time, as she turned around, it felt as if something was calling to her. She then looked just ahead of her to her right and there she saw it. The ring. She sighed with relief and began walking over to claim it.

But then from the bushes emerged one of the spiders. It hissed at Brianna as it walked across the pathway. Brianna was about to just run away when she noticed the creatures feet. The creature was stepping on her ring. Her ring. Not that creature's. Hers. And the creature was suddenly interested in the ring as it started sliding onto it's claws.

Brianna began to feel enraged all of a sudden. This spider was taking her ring. Her precious ring. Without hesitation she then charged at the large spider, screaming in anger. The spider looked up at her and hissed at her but Brianna quickly started slashing at the spider with her sword, managing to cut off one of it's legs. The spider responded by lunging at her but she held out her sword and the spider was unable to stop in time and it impaled itself on her sword. She then furiously pulled the sword out and the spider flopped to the ground.

Brianna panted with exhaustion and sheathed her sword, which was stained with spider blood as was part of her dress. She saw the ring right at her feet and she leaned down and picked it up carefully, looking around and smirking as she did so.

"Mine." she hissed.

She then turned her back to the dead spider and stared at the ring for a few seconds as if it was the most fascinating thing in the universe. But suddenly, her attention changed rapidly along with her feelings. The ring suddenly lost any if all appeal and everything seemed to fade away. She turned slowly and looked at the carcass of the spider and her expression completely changed from relaxation to utter silent horror. Her breathing suddenly became labored as she started shaking uncontrollably and she then looked at her hands as she wiped some of the blood off her dress with her left hand. An indescribable fear suddenly came upon the poor hobbit and she went white as a sheet and didn't even notice the sweat dripping down her face. She then looked back to the ring and noticed something…the ring was stained with blood on the ends she was holding it.

Brianna gasped in fright and then threw the ring on the ground right next to her feet and backed away slightly. She leaned against a tree root, put her right hand over her mouth and shut her eyes as tears started flowing out of them. She didn't want to touch that ring again as long as she lived. She didn't know what it had done to her. And frankly, she never wanted to experience what had transpired ever again. She finally opened her eyes, now fogged up a bit by the tears and saw the ring just inches away from her feet. Just one touch away from being back in her pocket.

"Keep up!" yelled Gerlinde's voice from seemingly far away.

Brianna snapped back into reality and looked to her right. The noises were coming from beyond the trees nearby.

The girls! she thought I'd forgotten about them!

She quickly glanced back at the ring and then at the trees and then back at the ring. She hated having to look at it again and remembering what had passed not a few moments ago. But if she stayed here, other spiders might find her. Or something worse. And she needed to get to girls without being seen. She took a deep breath, mustered up her courage, then grabbed the ring and quickly slipped it onto her finger.

Back with Traude and the girls, they just kept running as fast they could. They'd managed to kill eleven different spiders rather quickly and were making a hasty retreat. This was partly due to some loud battle noises going on behind them and more spiders screeching. Someone else was in this forest and they didn't want to be found by them.

"I think we lost them!" Traude said as the girls came to a stop.

They suddenly heard a shriek and all gasped when they turned and saw a spider leap from the forest canopy with a string of web still dangling from the creature's spinnerets.

"Stand firm!" Traude ordered.

"Wait! Look!" Bertha exclaimed pointing up.

Everyone looked up and gasped in surprise at what they saw.

From above the trees, a young elf woman suddenly leaped from one of the branches, grasped onto the web string and slid down rather gracefully. She then hit the ground right under the spider and stabbed the creature with a rather large knife and a trail of yellow blood followed after the girl. The spider collapsed onto the ground just as the girl emerged into full view of the girls and suddenly drew a bow and arrow from seemingly out of nowhere as she stood up and pointed it right at Traude and the girls with a very determined look on her face. To the girls further bafflement, elves suddenly emerged bushes and ferns from behind them and from both sides, sporting long black, red and brown hair and pointing bows and arrows at them. Their leader had blonde hair that she had pulled back. She had bright, blue eyes and her skin was soft like a baby and she was currently wearing a dress that was tucked into her trousers and she also wore very large boots. She was armed with two large knives tucked away neatly into the quiver on her back and a bow and arrow which she currently pointing at the girls.

This was Lechsinka, daughter of Talia the Elven Queen of Mirkwood and the Surrounding River.

"Put your weapons down." she said firmly.

Traude sighed in defeat and rolled her eyes as she did so. The last thing in the world she wanted to be saved by: elves.

"Hey, wait!" Ottilie piped up suddenly "One of us is missing!"

A scream suddenly pierced the air and Frieda recognized it immediately as she turned towards where it came from.

"Kamilla!" she shrieked as she ambled towards the screams direction.

Kamilla had indeed become separated from the group during the kafuffle earlier and was screaming as she was currently kicking a spider away from her. The spider growled angrily with each kick. The spider was just about to lunge at Kamilla and bite her neck when a knife suddenly flew from out of nowhere and hit the spider right between the eyes. The spider shrieked in pain before hitting the ground with a loud thud. Kamilla gasped and turned around to see two more spiders coming at her…and something else.

From behind one of the trees, an elf appeared and at lightning speed threw another knife into the spider to his left. The spider screeched as the elf grabbed his knife, pulled it out and then stabbed the spider right in it's skull. The second spider tried to sneak up behind him but with reflexes like Kamilla had never seen he pulled the knife out and then slashed the spiders throat open twice before stabbing it right between the eyes. He then ripped the knife out and quickly stashed it into his quiver as he loaded his bow and arrow and spun around and fired his arrow.

It whizzed right past Kamilla's face and hit the spider with the other knife embedded in it's head and the spider collapsed dead. Kamilla turned to look at the elf when she suddenly noticed another spider coming up behind him.

"Look out!" she barked.

The elf turned around and began quickly dispatching the spider whilst Kamilla turned around again to see behind her and noticed yet another spider coming towards them.

"Quick! Give me a knife!" she barked.

The elf was already distracted trying to keep the spider attacking him at bay by holding up his bow with his left arm so that the spider wouldn't be able to bite him.

"You think I'm going to give you a weapon?" he said as he managed to grasp his knife with his other arm.

And with that he managed to have the knife switch hands and slice the spider open at the same time as he turned around and threw the knife as he turned, with the spiders blood spraying behind him. The knife whizzed through the air and struck the spider right between the eyes with blood spraying on Kamilla's face and it became embedded in the spider's skull. The spider briefly screeched before stumbling over and dying. The elf panted with exhaustion and leaned down to pick up his bow as Kamilla turned and finally got a good look at him.

The elf, whose name was Tadeusz, had reddish-brown short-cut hair and brown eyes. He was currently wearing a brown Elvish uniform lined with white at the edges. A ray of sunlight happened to shine through the trees when Kamilla turned to look at him and it gleamed on his hair. When Kamilla saw him, she felt her heart began beating faster and faster. It was just her and him, alone in the forest.

"A-Are you…alright?" Tadeusz asked tiredly.

But, for the first time in her life, Kamilla was speechless and could only nod 'Yes' as she never tore her eyes away from him.


	45. Guess Whose Coming to Elf Dinner

The girls all had put down their weapons seeing as there was no use fighting back. Some of the elves quickly picked up their weapons whilst others, including Lechsinka herself, headed towards them.

"Search them!" she ordered.

The elves then started searching them much to their discomfort but especially Frieda who had one elf attempting to remove her many knives she had hidden around her person. Lechsinka quickly found something in Gerlinde's bag and quickly drew it from the bag.

"Hey, give that back!" Gerlinde protested "That's private!"

Lechsinka, however, felt very underwhelmed by what she saw. She had Gerlinde's locket which featured a detailed drawing of a bearded man on one side and of a pudgy little girl with messed up hair and dimples. Lechsinka's attention was drawn first to the drawing of the man.

"Whose this?" she asked "You're father?"

Gerlinde gasped in disgust and gave a very cross look to Lechsinka.

"That is my husband!" she barked.

Lechsinka turned her attention to the drawing of the little girl.

"Okay...then who is this?" she asked.

At that, Gerlinde snatched her locket out of Lechsinka's hands, much to her surprise.

"That's my wee lass, Gerda!" Gerlinde said as she stuffed her locket in her dress pocket.

Lechsinka decided to say no more for fear of insulting this dwarf and instead scanned the clearing looking for Tadeusz. Frieda was still having to deal with the elf searching her for knives and realized he was about to check her chest area.

"Whoa, hey!" she said as she smacked the elf's hand away "No touching there!"

It was at that moment that Tadeusz arrived into the clearing with Kamilla in tow, who was smiling like a silly person.

"Alright, off you go, dwarf." Tadeusz said.

"I have a name, my good fellow." Kamilla replied softly

As as she walked away and joined the others, Tadeusz caught up with Lechsinka who went over to greet him and the two shook hands.

"I got fifteen spiders." she said "How many did you get?"

"Seventeen." Tadeusz replied smugly.

"Whoa, you better be careful or you'll put me out of a job." Lechsinka chuckled "So…I guess that means they're all dead?"

"Yes but more will come." Tadeusz replied "They're growing bolder."

"Seems that way." Lechsinka said.

"My lady Lechsinka, come take a look at this!" called out an elf.

Lechsinka immediately went to where Traude, Barbara, Daniela and Bertha were in the group and the elf guard handed her Orcrist. She gently grasped Orcrist and observed it carefully.

"This is an Elvish blade. Forged by my kin." she said enthusiastically before turning to Traude "Where did you get this, dwarf?"

"It was given to me." Traude replied.

"Sure it was." Lechsinka said suspiciously.

"Now you wait just a minute." Traude said as calmly as possible but with extreme irritation in her voice "I may be a lot of things but not a liar. When I say that sword you have was given to me, I'm telling the truth."

Lechsinka was absolutely flummoxed by these dwarf women's leader. Not only was she very stubborn but was not afraid to speak her mind at her captors. Unfortunately, Lechsinka had pretty much had enough of spiders and dwarves for one day and Traude's grouchiness was the icing on the cake.

"If what you say is true…then my mother will have questions for you." she said.

Lechsinka then yelled something in Elvish and the elves motioned for the girls to start moving. The girls quickly started marching with the elves in front and behind them. Bertha suddenly looked around and noticed something. One of them was missing. Specifically, a hobbit.

"Traude!" she whispered at Traude "Where's Brianna?"

Traude didn't have an answer for she had just assumed up until then that Brianna was just in the middle of the group but she looked around and realized she wasn't in the group. Brianna was actually hiding behind a tree and when the group started moving she followed after but stayed a little farther back just to be safe.

As Brianna followed the girls, the forest began clearing up and more sunlight came through. Eventually the seemingly endless forest finally gave way to a roaring river and everyone was bathed in sunlight and fresh air. As the girls took in the fresh air, they observed the surroundings just ahead.

A stone bridge spread out before them that extended across the river to a truly massive stone rock that was as long as two houses stuck together and almost as tall as the trees around it on both sides of the river. A massive redwood tree grew out of the rock and stood tall above the other trees. At the end of the bridge were two great stone columns that held up an awning that was built into the rock and there were fifteen-foot tall wooden gates painted bright blue. When closed, the doors formed an image of a phoenix with it's wings stretched over both sides of the door.

Two guards in grey Elvish armor stood at the gate and began opening the gate. As the gate opened two more guards were revealed to be opening the door from the inside as well. The girls marched in grumbling as they did so, with the other Elves following close behind them. Lechsinka was the last elf in the group and she stopped at the bridges end.

"Shut the gate." she ordered.

All of a sudden, Lechsinka felt something nudge against her but when she looked to both her sides she saw nothing. She then looked behind her, very much perplexed but all she saw was the other side of the river with the forest extending as far as the eye could see.

"My lady, is everything alright?" a guard asked.

"Y-Yeah." Lechsinka replied as she continued her eye searching "I just…I could have sworn something touched me just as I stopped."

"Must have been a passing bird or something." the guard replied.

"Good point." Lechsinka said as she returned her attention back to getting inside "Shut the gate behind me."

And with that, she passed through the gates but she couldn't shake the eeriness from a few moments ago. She knew she felt something brush up against her. If only she'd been paying attention when it did so. It was, in fact, Brianna, who managed to scramble through the gates before Lechsinka followed after and the gates shut with a thud. As Brianna turned around to follow them, she couldn't believe what she saw.

The Woodland Realm was truly a sight to behold and it didn't just amaze Brianna but took the other girl's breath away too including Traude's. As they walked on the bridge (which lucky had railings on it), they saw balconies sticking out of the surrounding rock walls. There were also rays of sunshine shining through cracks in the wall just ahead. There were additional bridges that connected to the main one the girls were on. On either side were waterfalls that flowed from the outside and created a relaxing mist that blew through the kingdom, keeping it cool even on the hottest summer days. A river flowed under the bridge and connected the waterfalls. On the walls above hung glowing lamps that helped illuminate the vast halls.

One of the most magnificent sights, however, was the throne room at the end of the bridge. At the bridge's end were some steps carved out of rock which led up to the throne. Just above the throne were the roots of the redwood growing out of the rock, with beautiful transparent white curtains hanging from the roots on both sides and blowing in the breeze just outside the railings. The throne itself was carved out of ivory and wood and at it's top were two massive elk horns.

And sitting on this throne was Talia, Queen of the Woodland Realm.

She truly was a beautiful woman to behold, with long, blonde hair and blue eyes which glistened like jade diamonds. She had a face like her daughters: soft and smooth. She was wearing a beautiful dress as white as the curtains softly blowing around her. She rested her arms on the wooden armrests of her chair and four guards stood nearby the throne, in similar grey armor attire to the ones outside.

Lechsinka approached her mother with the prisoners just behind her and she curtsied to her mother.

"Welcome home, dearest daughter." Talia said softly "But who have you brought with you?"

"Dwarves from the forest, mother." Lechsinka replied.

Talia squinted her eyes to get a better look at the prisoners before her, who were either glaring at her or just observing the scenery. It was then that Traude caught her eye. She hadn't expected her of all people to end up in her throne room.

"Interesting. It has been a long time since a member of the Oakenshield family was in these halls." she said "Where does your journey end?"

"Sure as hell ain't gonna end here!" Nadja barked.

Everyone shushed her but it had caught Talia's attention. Daniela, Barbara and Traude quickly realized there was going to be no easy way out of this. But then again for once in her life, Nadja may have had a good point. They just went through that nightmare of a forest and they sure didn't come all this way to get captured by Elves.

"So much for the benevolence of Talia, Queen of the Elves." Daniela said "Is this how you treat travellers?!"

"Well, only the ones who annoy me." Talia replied.

"Is it a crime to be lost in a forest?!" Barbara demanded.

"Yeah and is it a crime to be hungry and thirsty?!" Bridget said.

"It is a crime to cross into our woods and attack my men without a good reason." Talia responded.

"Wait what are you talking about?!" Ophelia inquired loudly.

"The fact that according to my men, your leader attacked them twice when they were out camping." Talia explained.

"Oh that!" Ophelia barked "So they were real! I thought Traude had gone bonkers!"

The other girls shushed her while Talia rolled her eyes and sighed. This was going to be a long day.

"Now...why did you all attack my men twice in a row in their merrymaking?" she asked.

"We didn't attack them." Traude said "We we're hoping to get some help because we were starving."

"Actually it was more like tripping over yourself." Nadja added.

"Thank you, Nadja." Dorothea snarled through her teeth "Now please shut up."

"What were you doing to begin with?" Talia continued.

"Well gee, I expect we were starving in the forest!" Traude growled.

"That and wandering around a lot. " Nadja went on.

"Shut up!" Traude, Ottilie and Dorothea said together.

"And what were you doing in the forest?" Talia asked.

"LOOKING FOR FOOD AND DRINK BECAUSE WE WERE STARVING!" all the dwarves yelled together.

All the elven guards almost drew their swords but Talia's hand shot up and they stopped halfway through drawing them. She put her hand down and the guards sheathed their swords.

"Leave Traude Oakenshield here with me." she said calmly "Would you kindly put the others in the cells below."

The guards did as command and led the dwarves down to the prison cells. They did their best to stuff the dwarves in their cells but unfortunately the girls were being very uncooperative. They put two dwarves in each cell except for the rare occasion where Kamilla, Bridget and Frieda having to be put in separate cells alone.

"Get off me, you buggers!" Daniela snarled as she was put in her cell "I'm going to get you for this!"

Meanwhile, Frieda and Kamilla's cells were across from each other but just as Frieda was about to step in, the guard noticed something about her.

"Um…hello?" Frieda demanded "What are you-"

Suddenly, the guard reached into Frieda's chest area of her gown and pulled out a knife, which was in fact the last of Frieda's many knives. Frieda gasped in disgust just as the guard shoved her into her cell and shut the gate.

"You bastard!" she barked not even trying to hide the anger in her voice "Get back here! I'll teach you to do that to me!"

Kamilla on the other hand was very cooperative and just walked into her cell. When she stepped into her cell, she looked to Tadeusz and cleared her throat.

"Aren't you going to search me?" she asked as innocently as possible.

"Let me think...no." Tadeusz replied.

He then shut the cell door and walking off. Kamilla realized just how much she'd embarrassed herself and smacked herself in the forehead and sat down on the prison cell floor with her back against the wall.

 _Way to go, Kamilla_ she thought to herself.

Tadeusz then approached Lechsinka who was standing nearby.

"Is that all of them?" she asked.

"Yes." Tadeusz replied "That took all of forever."

Lechsinka chuckled softly but then noticed Kamilla staring at Tadeusz again only for her to notice Lechsinka and then pretend to be looking up at the ceiling.

"Hey…why is the dwarf staring at you?" Lechsinka asked as she turned back to Tadeusz.

"I don't know." Tadeusz replied as he walked off "She's quite tall for a dwarf though. Don't you think?"

"Now that you mention it, she is rather tall." Lechsinka said jokingly as she followed.


	46. Game of Elves

Traude stood with her dress covered in spider webs before Talia, who was sitting comfortably on her throne. Talia then cleared her throat as she prepared to speak.

"Now let's talk about how you came into our forest." she said "There must be a reason for it. Like say…the Lonely Mountain?"

Traude almost gasped in surprise but kept quiet. She nonetheless looked at Talia with a look of shock on her face. Talia, however, kept her calm and commanding presence and simply smirked.

"Oh yes." she said "I'm aware of your journey. Now let's think about this for a moment. Some may say a noble quest is at hand. A quest to reclaim a homeland and slay a dragon. I imagine that is true but..."

"But?" Traude inquired.

"But I think there's more to this quest then meets the eye." Talia replied "You've found a way in, haven't you?"

Traude simply nodded and thus Talia's interest in this quest grew even more and she began putting the pieces together as their conversation continued.

"You seek the King's Jewel." she continued "The Arkenstone. It's precious to you beyond measure. Believe it or not, I understand that."

"Really?" Traude asked with some sarcasm in her voice.

"I do. There are gems in the mountain I desire as well." Talia replied "A gift meant for me that I never received. White gems of pure starlight. I offer you my help, dwarf."

Traude raised an eyebrow in suspicion but she was shrewd enough to see that there was some truth in Talia's words.

"Go on." she finally said.

"I will let you go and not interfere in your journey." Talia said "But only if you return what is mine and give me an additional share of the treasure."

"So it's a favor for a favor then?" Traude said as she turned her back towards Talia and looked out at the scenery around her.

"You have my word." Talia replied "One queen to another."

Traude thought about this for a second but then quickly glanced back to Talia. Talia. That traitorous Elven queen who had broken her word many years ago on that terrible day when Smaug came. She remembered it like it was yesterday. She then found herself chuckling much to Talia's surprise.

"You're asking me to trust you?" Traude said "To trust Talia, the High Queen of the Elves of Mirkwood? You want me to trust you?!" she roared as she turned around and stared directly at Talia with anger in her eyes "You?! Who lack all honor! I've seen how to treat your 'friends!'"

"What?!" Talia demanded still in shock from the rage in Traude's voice.

"Don't be stupid with me, elf!" Traude went on not even trying to hide the burning rage inside her "It was years ago but I remember it clear as day! We were driven from our home and my family and I remember seeing you and your forces atop the hillside as we fled. But you turned away like the coward you are and fled. You turned away from the suffering of my people when you could have helped us!"

"Calm down." Talia said desperately trying to stay relaxed "I don't wish for us to-"

"You listen well, elf!" Traude snarled "I'm going to say to you what I should have said all those years ago…damn you! Damn you and your apathy! You stupid motherf-"

"Quiet!" Talia roared in anger.

Traude was taken aback by how angry she sounded and then Talia got up and walked up towards Traude until she almost a foot in front of her and Talia leaned down slightly albeit looking away from Traude.

"How d-dare you act like you know more than anyone else?!" she said as she realized she was looking the wrong way and looked back towards Traude "I know of the power of dragon fire. I've faced the great, winged serpents of the north. I have lost people I love."

She quickly sighed in frustration while Traude was still shocked by how angry she'd gotten.

"I tried to warn your grandfather about what his greed would summon but he would not listen. He called me a fool." Talia continued as she tried to calm herself "And now look what his stubbornness has brought. You think you're so different from him? No. You are just like him. Stubborn. Insensitive. And full of pride. I'd hoped we'd part ways as friends. But I see now that that's not possible."

She then did a hand gesture and the guards (who had stayed perfectly still the entire time) grabbed Traude and began dragging her away while Talia never ceased giving Traude the most extreme death glare she'd ever seen.

"Stay here if you wish too." Talia went on "100 years is a mere blink in the life of an Elf. If it takes you that long to come to your senses then so be it! I'm patient. I can wait."

The guards then took Traude back down the dungeon where the rest of the group was. She was thrown her cell and accidentally fell over just before the elves shut the door. It would have been very funny if the dwarves weren't in such a bad situation. Traude did her best to brush the dust and cobwebs off her clothes as one of the elves locked the cell door and walked away.

"Did she offer you a deal?" Barbara asked from her cell.

"She did." Traude replied "And...it didn't go well."

Everyone groaned in frustration. And frankly Traude had to agree.

"Unfortunately, it was mostly my fault." Traude continued.

"That does it then." Barbara said "The deal was our only hope. Now we're stuck here."

"Hey it could be worse." Nadja lied with a shocking amount of stress in her voice.

"Oh really?" Dorothea demanded "How could it be worse?!"

"I don't know, okay?! I'm just trying to calm myself down!" Nadja blurted out "I mean we're just going to spend the rest of our lives in this place! We're never going to get out! We're never going to see home again! And we're just-"

Dorothea then promptly slapped her sister right across the face at which Nadja calmed down quickly.

"Okay." she said "I feel better now."

"Just a moment girls." Barbara said "We may have one trick left up our sleeve."

"What?" Daniela asked.

"The hobbit." Barbara replied.


End file.
